Feminist killjoys ruin the mood. They are not amused when a sexist or racist joke is served at family diner. They unsolicitedly point out the problem, are in the way of other people’s happiness and leave you feeling nothing but uneasy.

According to Sara Ahmed, to Killjoy is a necessary and unavoidable feminist practice. ‘Feminists,’ she writes, ‘disrupt the whole idea that happiness is found at certain places. Why would we desire to be a happy housewife or chase the dream of domestic bliss, if these ideas of happiness only reinforce the social norms and limit our existence.’

In this programme we’ll look at what it means to be a killjoy and how we can rephrase our ideas of happiness. Hengameh Yaghoobifarah tells us what it’s like to be a Queer Muslim Killjoy and Luanda Casella goes on a quest for the tools to killjoy and to redefine concepts like resistance and happiness. They will talk with moderator Rasha Hilwi, herself a confident killjoy.

‘There can be joy in killing joy. Kill joy, we can and we do. Be willful, we will and we are.”
– Sara Ahmed, ‘Feminist Killjoys (And Other Willful Subjects)’