Throughout March we are celebrating Women in the Arts with a connection to the Isle of Man. The aim of this series is to highlight the challenges that women face in the creative industry, share some advice to younger creatives and also to celebrate these women in their achievements.
Bridget “Bridge” Carter is the creator of the Manx Bard and the Manx Youth Bard. The Manx Bard competition is held every year and is open to anyone aged 18 or over who lives full-time in the Isle of Man. Entrants are judged on the quality of poetry, their performance and on the initiative they can bring to this high profile role. Bridge helps to oversee the competitions to crown the bards, orgranise events, and help promote poetry in general on the Isle of Man.
What is your professional background in the arts?
Promoting Performance Poetry on the Isle of Man.
What inspired you to pursue a career promoting Performance Poetry?
The chance to perform at the first ever Manx Litfest Poetry Slam in 2012, It was so exciting, the most brilliant way of expressing oneself, incredibly liberating, I owe much thanks to the Manx Litfest team for giving me that opportunity, it has since inspired me to inspire others to be able to do the same.
What are the current challenges for women in your creative industry?
I honestly think poetry and especially performance poetry actually helps break down many of the barriers faced by women, it’s possibly one of the greatest platforms we have ever had as it allows us to tell it the way it is. Women all over the world use it, Arab women use it to fight Racism and there is mounting recognition of poets like Hollie McNish, Kate Tempest and of course the celebrated poet Rupi Kaur, whose book “Milk and Honey” is a No1 bestselling having sold over 3 million copies.
What progress have you seen for women in your field?
There is a growing popularity of poets such as those I’ve already mentioned and with this popularity comes a wonderfully thriving poetry scene. The unique styles of these poets alone have the ability to reach listeners of all ages but more importantly they are reaching totally new audiences from around the world. The future of poetry is looking very promising indeed right now.
Share a women’s empowerment moment that inspired you.
There are a number of moments that spring to mind really but for me first and foremost it has to be the Suffragettes, which included one very inspirational lady in particular, Emmeline Pankhurst, who having gone to a suffrage meeting with her mother, Manx woman, Sophia Goulden, was inspired to go on and lead the campaign which led to many women getting the vote, the first of which was here on the Isle of Man.
What do you think is the biggest issue today facing women of your age?
Well, I am presently lobbying for standalone legislation in respect of “Elder and Vulnerable people’s abuse”, and as we know lobbying is in itself an Art form, so for me it has to be this, one of the most insidious forms of abuse faced, predominantly, by women the world over.
From around the age of 55 onwards women become easy targets for many abuses and scams but this particular abuse is just not taken seriously enough by the powers that be, in my opinion, or by the public in general but that’s probably because it isn’t something that is glaringly obvious. Did you know that family members are often the biggest perpetrators? Or that an outsider might see this type of abuse as easy pickings, a neighbour, someone who is in a trusted position, the list is endless, and no one is less likely to be the type to do it either, being of good standing does not preclude someone from being a perpetrator of such crimes against society.
Yet whilst it isn’t only women that are subjected to these abuses, as was highlighted recently in relation to Peter Farquhar, who in February this year became the subject of an episode on Channel 4’s “Catching a Killer” which showed how one man very nearly got away with not only subjecting Peter to Gaslighting, under and over medication but in the end murder, statistically, women over 50, are the more common targets and although Financial abuse in older women is really quite prevalent, there seriously just not enough being done to protect them.
How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?
I think it’s something that we, as women, should do instinctively, I get that in the old days, not so long ago sadly, women probably had a lot to lose out to other women, there would be jealousy or women persecuting other women, it was a dog-eat-dog world. Life was tough for women back then but sadly it is not just some men that discourage women still today it is in fact other women too.
Over recent years there has been growing support for women to empower each other rather than discourage or criticize and we absolutely should embrace that support, to see our sisters excel in every aspect of their lives is inspiring. There is still some way to go but we can get there sooner if we stand together. Support each other, love each other. Stop mistreating each other, it is no longer a competition to be the prettiest or the most popular anymore it’s about respecting each other, celebrating all our hard work and acknowledging each other’s accomplishments.
In the wake of International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about a career in the arts?
Performing Arts allows us to be ourselves, to be self-assured in who we are. The skills learned by the younger generation in all different art forms are not only fun and engaging but provide them with experience and the key life skills such as confidence and discipline to help them succeed in life. Having an extracurricular interest such as the performing arts also provides children with a platform to grow into confident, resilient well-rounded individuals. To quote one of our recent Youth Bards, Holly MacRae who in an interview with the Arts Council in 2019 said, “If this year as Bard has taught me one thing, it’s that when young people are encouraged and empowered, when they are shown that what they can do can make a real difference, they can change the world.” I think, from the perspective of a young women involved in the performing arts, Holly pretty much sums that message up.
What have you been working on lately?
Pictured is 16 year old Brintha Yasodaran, who was recently chosen as the islands 2021 Manx Youth Bard. Brintha, begins her tenure by bringing to life an idea she had in light of recent events, “30 days of Creative Art”, to include poetry, painting, songs and more, all focusing on women’s rights. She hopes to raise more awareness of this most topical issue together with funding in support of Womankind International. Read more about it here.
