AmsterDames: An English Feminist Podcast in the Netherlands

Moving to a new place is always a challenge. Especially, when it is a new country. We need to figure out how things work, we need to find a home, apply for a job or fix our health insurance. When all of this is done, then there is the next step. Get to know the locals and find new friends. Often, we find our people in other expats. When you take this sense of community and you through NFTs and web...

Art and creative work show who we are. They show how we see the world, they show our ideas and our passion. But also where we come from. But unfortunately, there are still parts of the world that we do not get to see very often in art. Three designers and curators wanted to change that. This is how Non Native Native was born. Non Native Native is co-founded by designers and curators: Belle Phromch...

Sexual abuse is inarguably a traumatizing experience. Often, it takes the victims a long time to be able to talk about what has been done to them. If they manage at all. But if they speak up and search for help, they often find themselves stuck in a bureaucratic system, long waiting lists and insufficient support. But there is one woman who wanted to change this system and she founded Stichting To...

There are a lot of adjectives that are commonly used to describe women. Sexy, beautiful, charming, sweet, hot, cute …. Funny is not one of them. And indeed, on international stages, we mostly see male comedians. But there are two women who have decided to change that and have founded Funny Women Amsterdam. AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/ AmsterDames Facebook: h...

Today’s episode is about the Dutch afstandsmoeders. Between 1956 and 1984, thousands of unmarried women were forced to give up their babies against their will. Their babies were taken away from them the moment they were born and some of the mothers never got to see their children ever again. Until today, the investigation and the compensation of it’s victims – the mothers and the children – in the...

If you think back on your childhood days, did you play with dolls? What did they look like? Very much like you? But for many children around the world, this is not the case. Because dolls are very often white and able-bodied. But what about dolls with Afro hair, male dolls or dolls with a certain skin condition or Down syndrome? Those can be found in a little shop in Amsterdam Noord, called colour...

Every day, we are confronted with news. Often so many of them, that it can be quite overwhelming. But it seems, that we often only hear the stories of the same groups of people over and over again. In our world, there are still many people who don’t get a chance to share their stories, experiences and their view of the world. Mira Kinn wanted to change that and has founded the platform corresponde...

When you think of design, what is it that comes to your mind? Maybe something practical that you use every day? Or maybe something very technical around electronic devices? Shahar Livne is a conceptual material designer and what she wants to achieve with her designs is that people listen to a story. But not only her personal ones. She also tells stories about places, cultures, and relations with r...

"I don't see color. I only see people" The Netherlands, or at least the city of Amsterdam, prides itself on being a cultural melting pot. Almost 180 nationalities live here. But is life the same for all of them? People of color, Muslims or disabled people experience situations in their daily life that for example straight white people cannot imagine or are simply not aware of. Sarita Bajnath is a...

Volunteering has become a huge market. Many young people take a gap year to work with children in Africa, Asia or Latin America - very often in orphanages. On social media, they post pictures of themselves with a group of happy children. But unfortunately, it is mostly the volunteers who benefit from this experience. Agencies who organize these volunteering trips exploit the children and the young...

Since RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix, Drag has become quite famous. Also in the Netherlands. Even though it has a way longer tradition here. But even if the Netherlands are quite liberal in comparison, things are far from perfect for Drag Queens especially. Danielle Jiskoot, my guest for today has decided to start an agency for Drag artists to support local artists in the Netherlands. Website The D...

On TV, in magazines and on social media, we are always encouraged to consume. People are standing in line to get the latest iPhone. Physical fights on Black Friday are a very common thing. The fashion industry is no exception there. Stores offer several new collections of clothes multiple times a year, but the clothes we buy for cheap prices usually never last very long. The term for this is fast...

Tuning in with a pregnant person, taking care of their needs and making sure that the person in labor and their partners have the best possible experience of giving birth. This is how Valentina Constenla Kasat describes her job as a Doula. In this episode, she talks about how found this profession for herself, what has been the best moment so far and why in some way she compares herself to a labra...

A Syrian, a Dutch and a Ukrainian. These three characters are part of the debut novel that my guest has recently published. For her research for this book, she has spoken to many people from Syria to understand their situation. But only a few weeks ago, this has changed. Now her friends from Syria are asking my guest whether her family and friends are okay. Because on the 24th of February, the Rus...

If you could send one thing to the moon, what would it be? In case you are now thinking that the question is pointless because something like that is never going to happen anyway, think again. At this very moment, preparations are made to send a very important box into space. And the preparations are not made in some high-tech NASA underground headquarter, they are made in our very own city of Ams...

Art is a very unique way for a person to express their feelings and their experiences but also to represent their region and their cultural background. However, it seems like that in the art world some regions are more looked at than others, unfortunately. My guest for today wants to change that. She has founded Victory art, that strongly focuses on central and eastern european contemporary art. I...

If you think of the sweaters you usually wear – what are they made of? Wool probably. For centuries, human beings have been wearing animal hair to keep themselves warm. But have you ever considered wearing a sweater made of human hair? My guest for today is Designer Zsofia Kollar and she has founded Human Material Loop in Amsterdam that produces clothes made of human hair. AmsterDames Instagram: h...

As a photojournalist, Sanne Derks travels the world and observes it through her lens. Her work has already been published in New York Times, El País, Deutsche Welle and Al Jazeera. Still, she knows, photojournalism is strongly male-dominated and female photographers need to prove themselves five times as often to be taken seriously. In this episode, we talk about the sexism she has experienced, fr...

Are you in a relationship but your sex life is pretty much nonexistent? Or are you single but you are struggling to understand your own needs and your own sexuality? Sex and intimacy coach Irene Fehr has experienced a sexless marriage herself and has completely lost her libido which is why she now wants to help single (women) and couples to achieve a healthy sexless and wants to break common myths...

During the summer of 2020, Belarus, its president Lukashenka and police brutality against peaceful protestors were all over the world’s news. Since then, the country has disappeared from the media. The world is looking in another direction now. But that doesn’t mean that the situation in Belarus has changed. Human rights defenders are in detention, members of the opposition are sentenced to multip...

One character is parting the Netherlands and its society. His name is Zwarte Piet. Is he just the amusing, friendly helper of Sinterklaas or is he a slave and a caricature of a Black person? For years, Anti Zwarte Piet activists call for either a removal of the character or at least an alteration to make him less hurtful to Black people. Pro Zwarte Piet Activists fear the destruction of Dutch cult...

It is a situation most women have experienced more than once in their life. A man they do not know makes a comment on their looks, their body or their clothes on the street. In English, this is called catcalling, the Dutch term however refers to intimidation on the street. The organization Catcalls of Amsterdam wants to make this intimidation visible and has found a special way to do so. In this e...

Too white? Too dark? Too thin, too fat? Too curvy, not curvy enough? Even though there has been some more diversity within the beauty and fashion industry lately, women are still confronted with unrealistic beauty standards. Sonam Raj Verma is a plus-size model and a body positivity influencer. In this episode, she talks about self-confidence, acceptance and a potential change of mindset in the be...

Sometimes, a bad day can turn into a bad week, a bad month or even a bad year. And then, a friendly person that has an open ear as well as an open mind and listens to us and our problems can be of great help. But what if we do not have such a person in our lives? Then there is the organization Bel me wel, founded by Saisha Partiman. The psychologist and a team of volunteers provide call-backs to p...

When she was only a few weeks old, Dilani Butink was adopted by a Dutch family and was brought from Sri Lanka to the Netherlands. Years later, she found out that the information in her birth certificate is not correct. Was Dilanis's mother forced to give her baby away, was Dilani stolen from her mother or even sold to a Dutch adoption agency? She is not the only one with such a mysterious case. Fr...