Last month, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from my friend Nadeem (of the excellent Sogdian group Eran ud Turan), asking if I’d be willing to take part in a YouTube chat video about gender roles and inclusion in historical re-enactment. He’d previously taken part in a discussion on the same channel, discussing gate-keeping in the hobby and diversity.

I was flattered but very anxious to broach this topic. After all, I am both a living historian and a woman, but what could I have to add to the conversation?

We decided to just go for it and see where the conversation went. My gracious host and total legend Andrew (one half of Popula Urbanum) was a delight to talk to and we all enjoyed the discussion. Despite my constant umm-ing and ah-ing, we covered a couple of talking points relating to inclusion in the scene and how we can all go about mindfully considering how we might be coming across, both to the public and to our fellow re-enactors. If that sounds like your kind of thing, give it a watch!

Thanks for having me fellas, it was a pleasure!

Give some love to Andrew and Ocean over on their channel Popula Urbanum, they post regular videos on Medieval society, kit-making and re-enactment as a hobby. Nadeem is working on a photobook showcasing early Iranian fashion and artefacts, as well as regularly writing articles on his Patreon for Eran ud Turan– give him some love too!

If you found your way to my blog from this video, then hello and stay tuned. The Eoforwic Project is pretty new and I have a lot of big ideas to share with you all. To give you a “taste” of what you can expect very soon, I’ll leave you with this…