About us

Lesbian Feminist University (LFU) is an initiative set up in March 2010 as an autonomous space of educational, theoretic and artistic practices and actions for lesbians and women interested in lesbian feminism, antifascism and anticapitalism. The name “University” is meant to be ironic, as study methods are based on the principles of self-organization, autonomy, active participation and democratic decision-making of all the participants.

LFU meetings take place at club Tiffany (ŠKUC – Cultural centre Q) at AKC (Autonomous Cultural Centre) Metelkova. We believe in the inalienable right to women-only spaces and wish to provide a safe and, above all, free environment for women and the development of the participants’ own thoughts. Thus, LFU meetings are open exclusively to women.

Blog posts are written by LFU members, making the media space open for a variety of opinions and the expressive power of each and every one of us.

Contact us by e-mail: lezfemuniverza(at)gmail.com, you can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

LFU in media

-  About LFU, Tribuna – thematic edition Overlooked genders, February 2011

-  Interview with one of the LFU organizers,  Radio Student, 22. April 2010

- Interview with two authors of LFU blog, Grassroot feminism, Autumn 2010

- Presentation of LFU blog, L-talk, July 2011

- Article about queer&feminist scene in Ljubljana, Von rot nach Pinklila, Jungle World, September 2011.

Publications of LFU

- Oblak, T (ur.). Lesbian, feminist and women studies. Bibliography of books, thematic journals and catalogues in Slovene (only in Slovene). Ljubljana: Lesbian-feminist university and ŠKUC Association, 2011.

Activities in 2012:

Study reading club:
-    Invisible work (Hrženjak, M. Invisible work. Lj: Mirovni inštitut, 2007), March 2012.
-    Lesbian sex/uality (Califia, P. Sapfin dotik. Lj: ŠKUC, 2005), January 2012.
-    Cicle: Lesbian communities in time and space – Women of the left bank I. (Benstock, S. Ženske z levega brega. Lj: ŠKUC, 2004), April 2012.

Actions:
- street action, March 2012.

Reading club Anonymous readers (in collaboration with SKUC-Cultural centre Q):
- Taja Kramberger: Z roba klifa, February 2012.

Lectures:
- Alenka Spacal, PhD: Performance of Zvonka T. Simčič, Doulas “ad utero, ab ovo”, during 40th anniversary of SKUC Association, March 2012.

Workshops:
- workshop Uniting with the Occupy movement in absolute rejection of reasons for economy! 19.3.2012, April 2012.

Lesbian cinema club and debates:
–    Rojene v plamenih (1983), February 2012.
–    Vsakič, ko se razidemo (1994), March 2012.

Group music listening:
-    Edith Piaf, April 2012.
-    Heather Peace, January 2012.

Demonstrations:
- Anniversary of the Ljubljana Occupy movement, January 2012.
- We absolutely reject!, Occupy movement/99%, April 2012.
- Against ACTA, February 2012.

Collaborations:
-    lecture, 40th anniversary of SKUC Association, April 2012.

Group outings and post-event analysis:
-    exhibition of Alenka Sottler – Good day, Alkatraz Gallery, April 2012.
-    Review exhibition of Metka Krašovec, Modern Gallery, April 2012.
-    13th Feminist and queer festival Red dawns March 2012.
-    Public guidance through the exhibition Slovene women during the modern era, The National Museum of Contemporary History, February 2012.
-    Public guidance through the exhibition of Tinca Stegovec –Grafics and drawings of the MGLC collection, International Center for Graphic Arts, January 2012.

Activities in 2011

Study reading club:

- Feminism and anticapitalism (J. K. Gibson-Graham, J. Cameron: Feminizing the economy: metaphors, strategies, politics. Community economies collective; Gender, Place & Culture 10(2), 145-157); October 2011.
- Feminism and capitalism (Lilijana Burcar: Post-feminizmi v službi neoliberalnega ´humanizma´: obstranjevanje kritične refleksije in delegitimacija družbeno-političnega boja. ProFemina, ur. Petrović J., Arsenijević D., 2011); September 2011.
- Lesbians and anticapitalism (Alan Sears: Queer anti-capitalism: What´s left of gay and lesbian liberation? Science & Society, 2005, 69(1): 92–112); September 2011.
- Economical-social status of women (Lilijana Burcar: Od socialistične k (neoliberalni) kapitalistični družbenoekonomski ureditvi: redefinicija državljanstva žensk. Revija Borec, Horizonti zgodovine,  657-661, 2009), April, May 2011.
- Lesbian history, biography of lesbians (Lilian Faderman: Who hid lesbian history, Frances Doughty: Lesbian biography, biography of lesbians. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3, Lesbian History, 1979), March 2011.
- Femme lesbians (Joan Nestle: The fem question. Gay liberation and lesbian feminism, 1982, str. 542-548); February 2011.
- Butch-femme (Joan Nestle: Butch-fem relationships. Sexual courage in the 1950s); February 2011.
- Feminist zines (M. L. Fraser: Zine and Heard: Fringe Feminism and the Zines of the Third Wave; Angela Richardson: Come on, Join the Conversation! Zines as a Medium for Feminist Dialogue and Community Building); January 2011.

Workshops and debate groups:
- Technics of domination, September 2011.
- Women´s images in print media, June 2011.
- Sexism, May 2011.
- Femmale-to-Femme 2, drag, design, photography and self-discovery, March 2011.
- Femmale-to-Femme 1, drag, design, photography and self-discovery, February 2011.

Feminist collaborations:
- LFU – We publicize!, presentation of publications of LFU and SKUC-Cultural centre Q, + Heavenly brain sparks, collaborations with 12.festival Red Dawns, KUD Apokalipsa and SKUC-Cultural centre Q, Ljubljana, March 2011.

Reading club Anonymous readers (in collaboration with SKUC-Cultural centre Q):
- Dubravka Ugrešić: Štefica Cvek v krempljih življenja; novel; October 2011.
- Barbara Korun: Pridem takoj; poems; July 2011.
- Milena Mohorič: Zgodbe iz tridesetih let; short stories; May 2011.
- Mihaela Hojnik: Maločudnice; short stories; April 2011.

Group music listening:
- Pia Beck, jazz, October 2011.
- Pauline Oliveros, experimental instrumental music, October 2011.
- Gaye Adegbalola, blues, September 2011.

Exchange platform:
- first-time, 14. September 2011.

Debates:
- Femininity and lesbians, 1. anniversary of LFU +  Women party, May 2011.

Exhibitions:
- Katarina Hršak: Femmale-to-Femme, photography, May 2011.

Lesbian cinema club and discussions:
- In focus: Su Friedrich – Skrivalnice, July 2011.
- In focus: Su Friedrich – Lezbične maščevalke požirajo tudi ogenj, June 2011.
- In focus: Su Friedrich – Preklete, če ne, May 2011.
- Lesbian history and documentary movie, March 2011.
- In focus: Maria Beatty – Prevezana, February 2011.
- In focus: Maria Beatty – Črna rokavica, Svileni rokavi, February 2011.
- Mute film in correlation with race and lesbianism – Mejna črta, February 2011.
- Mute film in correlation with race and lesbianism – Čarovnija na Floridi, February 2011.
- documentary Levičarji: Angry Wymyn, January 2011.

Group outings:

- poems-prose marathon Womens´ stage, 17. festival City of women, Trubar`s house of literature, October 2011.
- literary reading with translators Simona Škrabec and Špela Bibič, Maria Merce Marcal: »Pasijon po Renée Vivien«, Renée Vivien: »Prikazala se mi je ženska«, SKUC-Cultural centre Q (club Tiffany), October 2011.
-  debate Delavke med svobodo, izbiro in revščino, 17. festival City of Women, SKUC Galery, October 2011.
- presentation of anthology Rdečke razsajajo! + benefit party for festival Rdeče zore, SKUC-Cultural center Q(club Tiffany), September 2011.
- literary reading with the writer Vesna Lemaić about the novel Dumping ground, SKUC-Cultural center Q (club Tiffany), March 2011.
- exhibition Womens`s worlds: Stories, City museum, January 2011.
- exhibition Legendary Lee Miller, Jakopič Gallery, January 2011.

Web: 
- monthly news and other contributions, e-list
- web library (being made).

Activities in 2010

Study and reading club:
- Radical lesbian feminism I and II (Monique Wittig: Essays)
- Radical lesbian feminism III (Mary Daly: Beyond God the Father)
- The lesbian body (Barbara Creed: Tribades, Tomboys and Tarts)
- Lesbians in film: lesbian vampires (Bonnie Zimmerman: Lesbian Vampires)
- Lesbians studying culture I, II and III (Tamsin Wilton: Lesbians Studying Culture)
- Lesbian chic I and II (Laura Cottingham: Lesbians are so Chic…That We Are Not Really Lesbians at All)
- Feminist writing (Ursula K. Le Guin: Commencement Address at Bryn Mawr University)

Feminist collaborations:
- KUD Apokalipsa and the collective of Apokalipsa – Gender magazine (editor Stanislava Chrobakowa Repar)

Movie screenings and debates:
- documentary Judith Butler (2006)
- Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Group outings:
- exhibition Rdeča: Barva spola v videoizsekih (Red: The Colour of Gender in Video Clips), Galerija Photon
- exhibition Feministična umetnost v Sloveniji (Feminist Art in Slovenia), Galerija P74
- exhibition Črna gora v magičnem pogledu princese Ksenije (Montenegro in the Magic Eye of Princess Xenia), Galerija Fotografija
- roundtable Belo črnilo: post/feminizmi, teorije družbenega spola in književnost (White Ink: Post/feminisms, Gender Theories and Literature), 7th International Revija v reviji Festival (Škocjan, 2010)
- theatre play Misterij žene (The Mystery of a Woman), Galerija ŠKUC

Web:
- montly news and other writings on LFU blog, e-list
- Scribd virtual bookshelf (until January 2011)

Between March and November 2010, LFU activities took place at the lesbian club Monokel, before we moved to club Tiffany in December.