Letters to the Future - On Equality and Gender - I Wish - The Men You'll Meet

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Asher

A dual-author collection exploring equality and gender through commissioned letters and poetry. Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, offers a hopeful address to future generations about safety, choice, and challenging rigid stereotypes from early childhood onward. Owen Sheers reformed masculinity through a tender, challenging poem delivered to live audiences at Hay Festival. Together the texts invite discussion, engagement, and reflection on building a gender-equal society.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages52

Reading Time1 h 20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

I Wish Laura Bates

The Men You'll Meet Owen Sheers

Further reading

LAURA BATESOWEN SHEERS LETTERSTO THEFUTUREON EQUALITYAND GENDER LETTERS TO THE FUTUREOnEquality and Gender I WishLaura Bates AND The Men You'll MeetOwen Sheers 丛 2018 Published May 2018 by Hay Festival PressThe Drill Hall25 Lion StreetHay-on-Wye HR35ADUnited Kingdom www.hayfestival.org ISBN 978-1-9996015-0-8 Copyright ◎Laura Bates and Owen Sheers 2018 Laura Bates and Owen Sheers have asserted their right to beidentified as the authors of this work in accordance with theCopyright,Designs and Patents Act1988. Typeset by Timothy SymonsPrinted byImpact Print,Hereford Hay Festival is committed to a sustainable future for ourbusiness,our readers and our planet.This book is made ofForest Stewardship Council certified paper. CONTENTS Introduction 5 I Wish Laura Bates 7 The Men You'll Meet Owen Sheers 23 Further reading # INTRODUCTION Laura Bates,the founder ofthe Everyday Sexism Project,has been inspiring women and men for many years,speakingin schools,colleges and at festivals.At Hay Festival last year,to celebrate our 3oth anniversary,which coincided with thesooth anniversary of Martin Luther’s Theses,we commissioned30 Reformations from our international speakers.Owen Sheers,inspired by Laura Bates tolook at the conversations we needto have with boys and men,reformed Masculinity.His tender,challenging poem addressed to his daughters,The Men You'llMeet,was delivered to live audiences at Hay Festival.This yearwe have commissioned Laura Bates to write her own letter tofuture generations,I Wish.Together these Letters produce abook rich in insight about the work needed to create a gender-equal society,and together make a hard and hopeful book. This book is for adults and young people exploring all the issuesaround equality and gender that face societies everywhere.Wehope that it will provoke discussion and engagement,and thatit will sit alongside some of the further recommended readingboth authors have suggested here. If you are a teacher,there are suggested lesson plans to usealongside this book,written by The National Literacy Trust andavailable from our website hayfestival.org. IWish Laura Bates I wish you a world where you're safe and wholeWhere your sex is more than a rigid maskI wish you a world with every choiceIs that really still too much to ask? TwISH you a world where children are equal.Where your tinyLbaby clothes won't imprint you with the rigid expectation ofa‘future superhero'or‘pretty princess'before you even knowwhat the words mean.Where blue boys'onesies don't predicta future president while the purple girls'version proclaims:Thate my thighs'.Ages o-3 months. I wish you televisions without yoghurt adverts tellingyouchubby boys are strong like daddy and roly-poly girls wearheels like mummy.A world where picking up a stethoscope in atoddler playgroup doesn't earn you the immediate,cooinglabelof doctor or nurse from a well-meaning nearby adult.Both suchbrilliant careers.Ones youshould have the right to choose foryourself. I wish you a world where you don’'t arrive in the toy store,brightwith excitement and saved-up pocket money,to rush towardsthe toy kitchen or the science kit you've dreamed of,only tofalter,and then stop short.Because the aisle is blue,or pink.The toyyou covetedlabelled‘for girls'or'for boys'.Not for you. Laura Bates I wish you a world where a boy picking up a dolly doesn’t cause asharp intake of breath. I wish you a childhood where girls don't receive 20%less pocketmoney than their brothers.Where children all do the sameamount of chores.Where boys aren’'t taught that the burden offinancial responsibility is theirs from childhood because parentsare more likely to give them money and more likely to buythings for their sisters.Where girls don’'t learn that it's theirjobto clearthe table andmake the beds while their brothers playoutside. I wish you a world where you will never hear that 'boys don’tcry'. I wishyou children’s parties wh

FAQs

Who are the authors and what is the focus of the book?

Laura Bates and Owen Sheers focus on creating a gender-equal society by addressing equality and gender through letters and poetry.

What is Laura Bates’s main theme in “I Wish”?

“I Wish” centers on imagining a world where children are equal, safe, and free from rigid gender expectations in education, advertising, play, and daily life.

How did Owen Sheers’ “reformed Masculinity” relate to the project?

He responded to conversations with boys and men by presenting a tender, challenging poem, The Men You’ll Meet, performed for live audiences at Hay Festival.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Asher