Neet menstru-skating

Three women playing Roller Derby TED Talks are presentations about Ideas Worth Spreading. The talks take place during two annual conferences and are then offered online for free. TEDx events are independent TED events, organised and run by a local community.

Last month, Sheffield hosted a TEDx event. I couldn’t attend, but I have been enjoying watching the videos of the various speakers on YouTube.

I was really glad to spot the awesomely amazing Sophie Maxwell in the line-up. I saw Sophie speak at a networking event last week and she is wonderful. After being isolated from education at the age of 14, she went back to education while homeless and she is now running her own college for other excluded young people. She also founded a choir called Glee By Gum. She is just fantastic and I couldn’t wait to hear more of what she had to say.

Then there was Chella Quint, a Sheffield-based comedy writer and performer talked about her zine, Adventures in Menstruating, in which she has documented popular attitudes towards menstruation as well as looking at the advertising that surrounds it, both vintage and modern.

After that I watched Erica Packington who talked about the world’s fastest growing sport – roller derby. She discussed it in the context of the ‘Roller derby saved my soul’ meme, looking at its impact on her own life as one of the Sheffield Steel Rollergirls, as well as how the sport has had a positive effect on others.

These three women talked in their own words about the ways they are changing their own – and others’ – worlds. If you need some Monday morning inspiration, this is a great place to start.

[The image is 3 women playing roller derby. It was taken by The London Roller Derby and is used under a Creative Commons Licence]