Well damn, we’ve been doing Christmas wrong all these years! Thank the heavens for UK-based advertising agency Grey London, who teamed up with Goldstein Music production company in London to release a series of revamped traditional Christmas hymns…but with a twist.
After a full year of seeing the patriarchy being torn down bit by bit through movements like the Women’s March, #MeToo, and numerous women and minorities raising their voices and taking a stand against inequality, violence and bigotry like never before, when it comes to celebrating the holidays and looking ahead to 2018, it really only makes sense to sing Hyrrs, not Hymns.
The collab team re-wrote 7 hymns altogether and released them in an album called Hyrrs: Festive Hymns Made Feminist, which you can download on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Spotify, and Apply Music. The best thing about these tracks is that proceeds go to an anti-domestic violence organization named Refuge, working with women and children who have become victims of this complex epidemic.
Global estimates published by the World Health Organization indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate partner.
With recognizable hymns such as ‘Deck The Halls’ now sung as ‘Kick The Balls’, and ‘Oh Christmas Tree’ transformed into ‘Oh Sexism’, and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ sung as ‘We Want An Equal Salary’, the holidays have now become a reason to empower women, while also getting festive. It is a brilliant, timely and effective way to send an important message about domestic violence. While we are seeing some exciting gains for women around the world, let’s not forget we still have a long way to go until we reach equality for all people.
“Everyday sexism is sadly still a fact of life and remains a root cause of violence against women. The Hyrrs of the world are often accused of lacking a sense of humor. So this is a divine opportunity for the Hymns of the world to see the funny side. Otherwise, guess who has the last laugh?” said Sandra Horley, CBE, the chief executive of Refuge.
During tumultuous political times it can be hard to stay motivated and keep track of all the battles we need to keep fighting. So humor is indeed important as it reminds us that we’re not alone, and we can find moments of humanity and community around something like singing a Christmas carol. And while it’s clear the patriarchy is going to continue it’s attack on our rights wherever it can, we should be taking every opportunity to fight back, even if that means turning our festive moments into a feminist one.
“From Weinstein and Westminster to salaries and sexism, 2017 has shown how appalling it can be for women. That’s why we now want to make a statement about kicking everyday inequality in the baubles this Christmas, while raising money for an amazing cause that helps women,” said Vicki Maguire, Grey London’s co-chief creative officer.
For those who are thinking of giving their festive traditions a permanent feminist makeover, you can download a free hymnbook, oops, we mean HYRRbook over at the website and keep it on hand to pass around to your family and friends, especially those relatives who still don’t understand what feminism is.
With topics discussed such as workplace sexism, female stereotypes, hypocrisy around female sexual pleasure, equal pay, (there’s even a #MeToo shoutout with reference to Harvey Weinstein), now you can ensure your #resistance work is being done even while you celebrate the holidays. With lines like “Old white men hog all the power; let’s bring down their phallic tower!” from the ‘Deck The Halls’ reboot ‘Kick The Balls’, we’re thinking Grey London and Goldstein Music should think about expanding this project for other celebrations and memorable dates.
Be sure to head over to the Hyrrs not Hymns website, download the album and HYRRbook, get familiar with the work of Refuge on their website, and watch all 7 videos over on the Grey London Youtube Channel.