Join us for a Listening Session, curated and hosted by pop culture expert Sonja Eismann.
Billie Eilish's eponymous lyrics from »Not My Responsibility« echo a haunting question that countless wom*n and marginalized voices have faced — on stage, in the studio, and in everyday life. Pop music has long been a space of both conformity and rebellion, and feminist artists have used it to challenge expectations, reclaim narratives, and make themselves heard.
What to expect:
In this one-hour session, Sonja will guide us on an auditory journey through music history, sharing her favorite feminist highlights from the world of pop music. From iconic anthems to hidden gems, she’ll explore how artists have used sound and lyrics to challenge norms, express resistance, and celebrate empowerment. The listening session takes place in a relaxed and informal setting – a chance to come together, listen, and discover new sounds. Free and open to all.
About Sonja Eismann:
Sonja Eismann (born 1973) is a journalist, author, and cultural scholar based in Berlin. She studied comparative literature in Vienna, Mannheim, Dijon, and Santa Cruz (USA), and has long been engaged in feminist media and pop culture critique. As co-founder and co-editor of Missy Magazine — Germany’s leading feminist pop culture publication — she is one of the most influential pop music journalists in the German-speaking world, known for her sharp eye (and ear) for the intersections of feminism and pop. Her writing has appeared in Spex, taz, der Freitag, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, and other outlets, and her research focuses on gender representation in pop culture. She was also co-founder of nylon magazine and served on the Goethe-Institut’s Music Council from 2016 to 2022. In 2024, she held the pop music lectureship at the University of Paderborn.
Image credit: © Melissa Klein/Bikini Kill: a color and activity book (1990). Via: DC Public Library, The People's Archive, DC Punk Archive, Melissa Klein Collection
