Shouldn’t It Be Loverly? The Aro/Ace Origins of My Fair Lady (An Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week Event)
Shouldn’t It Be Loverly? The Aro/Ace Origins of My Fair Lady (An Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week Event)
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The 1956 musical and 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady are among the most referenced love stories in modern media. At this event for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, Dr JT Welsch (University of York) will explore the roots of this romantic classic and what it reveals about the erasure of asexual and aromantic (aro/ace) experiences from (queer) history.
My Fair Lady tells the story of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins (played by Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison in the film), who reluctantly fall in love after he teaches her to act and speak like a ‘lady’. The makeover-to-romance premise has become a classic rom-com trope, following the musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play. However, it’s less well-known that Shaw spent the rest of his life trying to correct the romantic interpretation of his most successful play.
JT will discuss the play and film’s aromantic origins, linking them to George Bernard Shaw’s personal life and his ‘unconsummated’ marriage to the activist Charlotte Payne Townsend. The event will also connect queer history to how we think about love and relationships today. In conversation with JT and Kristin Käuper (University of Leeds), we’ll explore how romantic tropes shape and reflect our social norms around relationships, what this means for aromantic people, and why not every happy ending needs to be romantic.
The event is organised by the Aromanticism & Asexuality Research Network based at the University of Leeds, which connects scholars, writers, and activists working on topics related to asexuality and aromanticism.
About the speakers
JT Welsch is a senior lecturer and director of Liberal Arts at the University of York. His research spans a range of creativity studies, and his new book, The Poetry of Suicide, is out in April. His current research project reconstructs a hidden history of aro/ace writers and artists, challenging assumed links between creativity and sexuality.
Kristin Käuper is a PhD student in philosophy at the Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships at the University of Leeds. She works on asexuality and aromanticism, founded the Aromanticism & Asexuality Research Network, educates on aro/ace topics, and loves a good romance as long as it stays safely on the page.
Date: Thursday 19th February 2026
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: The Bookish Type, 77a Great George Street, LS1 3BR
Tickets are on a sliding scale (£8 /£5 / £3 / £0)
Please be honest about your financial situation when selecting what to pay for your ticket. If you purchase a ticket at the lowest end of the scale when you could afford the higher ticket prices, it makes it harder for us to provide financial flexibility to those who most need it.
- £8 "I have more than enough to comfortably meet my basic financial needs and can afford to contribute a little extra to support access for others."
- £5 "I am comfortably able to meet all of my basic financial needs."
- £3 "I may stress about meeting my basic financial needs but still regularly achieve them."
- £0 "I have no disposable income to afford the event"
Tickets are only refundable up to 7 days before the event starts. Please email to cancel.
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Access Info
The shop has an 8cm step but we have a ramp we can put in place if required.
There is a downstairs bathroom with toilet and hand basin.
There is a range of seating including chairs that are armless with padded seats and backs, armless sofa, bench with cushions.
Face masks are encouraged but not required; an H13 HEPA air purifier will be in use.
On street parking available (charges may apply).
Please email in advance if you have any specific access needs: thebookishtypeleeds@gmail.com
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