When Does Something Become Family Friendly

When I was at Latitude a few weeks ago, a can of worms opened and it will not get back in the can. Is Latitude a ‘family festival’? The subsequent Facebook war that played out has left me wondering at what point we denote something as suitable for children. Is it ok to fit the world around kids? And is it ok to not fit the world around kids? 

I went to Latitude with, well, my family. My parents had wanted to take me ever since I was little but it just never happened, and given how much we liked this year’s line up decided to finally go. While we may have been going as a ‘family unit’, we’re all adults and wouldn’t dream of going to a festival specifically catered to families anymore. 

That would include Camp Bestival, who advertise themselves as ‘reinventing family time’ in their slogan. This year’s line up included Mister Maker and Mr Tumble, who are icons but alas I am no longer their target audience. Latitude, on the other hand, does mention that they have a dedicated children’s programme but does not solely describe itself as a ‘family festival’. The website instead says how ‘Latitude isn’t just a festival for adults’, but the kids program is nowhere near as big as Bestival. The distinction here is rather nuanced, but to me that suggests that children are welcome, but this is not a festival built to their needs. 

I appreciate it at this point, it probably seems like I hate kids. I promise you, I do not. I especially think it’s important for children to be exposed to live music and theatre as much as they possibly can, as well as having the opportunity to run wild away from screens. I am perfectly happy for them to be kids at Latitude, and they deserve to have spaces for them. However, the problem at Latitude was a schism between some parents and other festival goers. There was a clear difference in opinion about things like the large trollies that many children (and their stuff) were being carted around in. Posts started to pop up on the unofficial Latitude group complaining about how huge areas were being sectioned off for people’s picnic blankets and trollies, which some people clearly felt was ruining their chance of getting a good view. 

At times, I did find the trollies frustrating myself. For people with very young kids, they’re without a doubt necessary as littlies could not walk around the site for a full day. However, there were a lot of families with children who should be old enough to walk ( if they are not, Latitude’s accessibility set up was highly praised by disabled festival goers) camped out for the whole day, barely taking notice of acts on stage. This also included blocking emergency exits which is absolutely not acceptable. It’s a classic case of some people ruining it for everyone, but the trolley war waged all weekend and for days afterwards on Facebook. I think the solution is to block out half the main arena for trollies, camp chairs and full picnics , and leave half for people who want to stand up and dance.

The other area of ‘family friendly’ contentiousness was the content of the acts itself. One of Latitude’s big pulls is the calibre of stand up comedians they had on offer. When I saw that acts like Sara Pascoe and Fatiha El-Ghorri were on the line up, I wasn’t sure if they would have to do a pre-watershed version of their acts. Despite being on during the daytime, all the stand-ups did their normal acts even if that included swearing and sexual content. It was quite awkward to be laughing at adult humour sitting next to pretty young children, and I suppose it is up to each parent what they want their children to watch but there were some rather awkward moments. While Chloe Petts was making what I would call a ‘light’ joke about fingering, some parents walked past the stage to check on their young son who they had left in the audience. The joke wasn’t particularly blue, but it brought attention to how these comedians were having to deliver their normal act to such a mixed crowd. It wouldn’t make sense to make these comedians change their act, because as previously established this is not a kids festival, but I wonder if Latitude needs to put out some content warnings and encourage parents to think before going into the comedy arena. 

Self Esteem was also a hot debate among the Facebook warriors, who clearly hadn’t bothered to do a 10 second google search on her ‘A Complicated Woman’ shows. I adore Self Esteem, I adore that album, but particularly I adore the artistry and impact of the ‘A Complicated Woman’ show. Of course there were the critics who disliked seeing a woman who’s ‘completely deranged’, but lots of people seemed to be shocked by the swearing. She’s not the Wu Tan Clan, and if you don’t want your kids to hear swearing then you need to do your research. A lot of people were offended by her ‘AI is for Lazy Cunts’ T-shirt, but I can’t help thinking it wasn’t ‘Cunt’ that people really had a problem with. This also wasn’t the first time she’s worn it. It is clear that Latitude isn’t asking their acts to cater for families, because the following week Self Esteem’s T-shirt simply read ‘Fart’. If an artist is brought to a festival to do a show, then they have a right to perform it properly unless otherwise advertised. I’m a full paying, fully grown adult, and while I want there to be spaces for kids if I’ve come to a not exclusively family festival to watch Self Esteem perform ‘A Complicated Woman’ I want to see it properly. 

To say Latitude has an identity crisis on its hands is an exaggeration, but I think some clearer markers need to be drawn so they don’t lose their family or adult audiences. Content warnings could help parents find what spaces suit their kids, and a designated zone for trollies would allow people to watch acts in a way that best suits them. I would like to return to Latitude as and when acts I like are performing, but I will be keeping my ear to the ground as if Latitude becomes a designated ‘family festival’ then it would no longer be a space for me. 

 Written by, Eleanor Patamia