Feminism In London 2010

There has to be a very good reason for me to get up at 6.15am on a Saturday. Luckily, the largest feminist conference the UK has seen in over 10 years happens to be an excellent reason, so there I was, hopping on the 07:48 to King's Cross.

There were over 1000 of us, men and women, students and pensioners, children and babies - making it the largest Feminism in London conference yet. The mood was excited and expectant and I was pleased that there was a 'speed feministing' session before the conference started to enable people to make new friends. Personally I didn't manage to get there as I was busy looking at all the stalls but as someone who generally goes to these events on my own, I can definitely say that I imagine it was really worthwhile for a lot of people.

The opening session of the day, entitled 'Women in Public Life', provided much food for thought in light of last week's news about the financial changes set to hit so many and was a great start to the day. Throughout the rest of the day when I heard people talking about their favourite speakers, those from this first session were mentioned a lot.

Ceri Goddard of the Fawcett Society was the first speaker and talked about the way women and economic policy have always been seen as completely removed from each other - and that this was something noticeable in the General Election earlier in the year. It made me think about the fact that the only time women and the economy were ever mentioned in the same sentence was when referring to child benefit, as if it's the only aspect of economics that concerns and affects us.

Ceri set the tone for the whole session, stating that the cuts will be hitting women the hardest and that the government did no Impact Equality Assessment to see if this would be the case. She highlighted the problematic nature of tax breaks for married couples where one partner does not work and the fact that the committee overseeing the cuts is completely male.

Helena Kennedy QC delivered a fantastic speech on the nature of exploitation as always involving power and/or money. She spoke of the way activism in 1970s shone a light into the way institutions were run and the way in which they treated women. But as she explained, the gatekeepers of everything in our society are still men and we're still in a situation where just a few visible women in these institutions are seen as proof that 'equality' has arrived. She ended by talking about the importance, therefore, of supporting and promoting women.

Lindsey Hills spoke on the perception of young mothers. As someone who had a child in her teens, she talked about the prejudice she faced and the difficulty of living on welfare - contrary to tabloid portrayals of young women who have babies 'so they can get a house and lots of benefits', Lindsey's experiences showed this is not the reality. She's involved in various projects and organisations which empower young mothers and is keen to help them show society that the negative stereotypes of women who have children young are unfair.

Rahila Gupta discussed women in journalism and writing with plenty of emphasis on the fact that even what we perceive to be 'liberal' spaces are full of prejudice - one example of this being that women of colour are rarely invited to comment on any issues aside from those specifically pertaining to women of colour. She challenged us to think about the extent to which our narrative is compromised or 'diluted' by 'rules of engagement' - for example newspapers and magazines having certain issues they don't talk about, certain things which they don't think their readership would be interested in. As we all know, this often affects feminism as it is portrayed in women's magazines because they feel they have a duty to stay 'on message' about fashion, men and makeup, often ending up talking about how the movement relates to these things over anything else.

Finally, Virginia Heath spoke about women in film and the inequalities of representation there. She also talked about her project My Dangerous Lover Boy, which aims to address the realities of the trafficking of young women.

The morning workshop which was the one I'd actually registered for was 'Violence Against Women as a Hate Crime', with a panel made up of Prof. Jill Radford, Hillary McCollum, Dr Aisha Gill, Pragna Patel and Vera Baird QC. The room was packed out and we were treated to a really interesting discussion, partly because the panelists didn't agree with each other on all points and also because of the wealth of experience they had to speak from.

Jill Radford talked a lot about findings on VAW from the WLM in the 1970s and violence as a strategy of control which was fascinating. One recurring point was the fact that we should not depoliticise the struggles surrounding VAW because we are probably about to enter a period of time where it will be firmly off the political agenda; another was the way that recent state responses to VAW have been more of a form of immigration control which has only pushed the problem abroad.

There was definite conflict over whether classifying VAW as a hate crime would be a positive step. On one hand it's important that VAW does not become any more 'acceptable' than it already is, but on the other, hate crimes have been shown to encourage communities to turn on each other and the very word 'hate' could make it difficult for some people to admit to being a victim. Similarly, it could pose problems with intersectionality and forcing women to identify as being the victim of a particular crime when other factors - for example homophobia or racism - might be involved and just as important.

At lunchtime it was fantastic to meet up with Sian of Sian & Crooked Rib and spend some time together. Sian is doing some fantastic work online and in Bristol so DEFINITELY check out her blog if you don't already read it. Woman is a powerhouse.

I managed to get a seat at the afternoon workshop entitled 'It's Easy Out There For A Pimp', which as you can imagine was pretty intense. The aim of the workshop was to outline how porn culture affects young people and prepares girls and boys to play certain 'roles' when it comes to self esteem, sex, relationships and exploitation - with one of the main points being that our media landscape is such that this is often not questioned and accepted as 'just a part of life' or even desirable behaviour. The role of corporations in portraying sex as something which is bought and sold, something involving degradation and a lack of respect, was discussed, as was the fact that this is something being pushed upon children from a young age and seriously affecting their wellbeing.

The workshop was accompanied by an extensive slideshow dealing with trends in porn and the way the majority of mainstream porn promotes a focus on humiliation, degradation, disgust and pain as well as the explosion in popularity of imagery of very young women. Panelists were Rebecca Mott and Anna Van Heeswijk of Object. As expected there were several conflicting reactions from delegates and questions prompted discussion on erotica, BDSM and the relationship feminists have with sex workers. Rebecca expressed her frustration at the way the movement often excludes the voices of prostitutes and spoke of many women she knows who feel let down and patronised by feminism.

I felt like the day was over much too quickly. I was pleased I chose those particular workshops but to be honest there were so many others that I would have loved to have been involved in. A goal for next year will probably be to go to one of the sessions on parenting. By 4pm we were all back in the main hall for the closing session which provided a truly rousing and inspiring finale.

Natasha Walter talked about stereotyping and the fact it means women and girls are not encouraged to live up to their full potential, which is something we can all agree with. She urged us not to give up the fight however terrible things seem; to 'never give up hope'. Anna Fisher spoke from a anti-capitalist perspective and said that she doesn't want equality with men if this means participating in the exploitation of others through capitalism, highlighting that there is major difference between hating men and hating what patriarchy and capitalism have done to them.

The closing speech of the conference was given by Finn MacKay who was most definitely on form and characteristically emotive and fabulous. Her main points? That we shouldn't have to 'rebrand' feminism as if it's something to be ashamed of, that the emphasis should be on reclaiming it instead. That in a world where it's framed as being about 'choices' and 'doing whatever makes you feel good' we need to remember the women's movement is about politics and the law and life and death. That the UK's rape crisis is not the amount of false accusations and that we must challenge this society that blames us for everything. And that all men have an important role to play by not supporting oppressive structures, by not treating us as a commodity - because we believe in their humanity. It was a speech that earned her a standing ovation.

I was so pleased I'd nabbed myself a ticket for the after-party with its food, bar and entertainment - not just because I felt like I could really do with a drink by that point but because it gave me the opportunity to have a really good chat with Kristin Aune, who I've been keen to meet since I became aware of all the work she's done on women in the church.

Throughout the day I was able to catch up with some lovely people and was inspired to get the ball rolling on a couple of projects (as always, time permitting). After a busy few weeks FIL was a welcome opportunity to engage my brain again. I think it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for the majority of those who attended - all I've seen so far is fantastic feedback - and I know it left so many people inspired and ready to do more.

FInd out more about the speakers and the other workshops. I'm sure lots of other blog posts will appear soon!

Women Speak Out Hits Cambridge

In a post a few months ago I mentioned a project called Women Speak Out - a project that I was somewhat excited about because it involves two women travelling to cities in the UK to talk to women about what being a woman in 2010 means to them.

Having been to London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester, Jessica and Michelle are on their way to Cambridge later this month and seeing as this happens to be my neck of the woods I'm going to be in attendance. I'm also hoping that a few of you reading this might be from the Cambridgeshire area and interested in coming along too!

If you would like to be part of a project aiming to get an idea of how today's women feel about the issues affecting them and their lives - work, family, feminism, politics and whatever else you can think of, Women Speak Out is for you.

Jessica and Michelle will be hanging out at the Café Project on Jesus Lane, CB5 8BQ, from 1-4pm on Saturday October 30th. Turn up whenever you like and stay for as long as you like - I'm sure it'll be a great afternoon.

For more information here's a PDF of the flyer for the event.

It's 'catfight' time for The Apprentice

Female candidates on The Apprentice have been criticised for representing women in business badly after last week's episode of the reality show made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In an episode which saw contestants attempt to design and market a beach-themed product, the show's female contestants were seen bickering and fighting throughout - something which undoubtedly contributed to them losing the task and being called into the boardroom to answer to Alan Sugar.

From the moment we saw footage of the all-female group sniping at each other while attempting to come up with initial product ideas, it was obvious that things weren't going to run smoothly and before long, project manager Laura Moore was in tears, claiming that she couldn't handle her team.

Despite her obvious anger at their behaviour, her fellow contestants continued to ramp up the nastiness, resulting in complete mayhem as they argued about how was responsible for the team's overall failure.

After watching the drama unfold, Lord Sugar's assistant Karren Brady stepped in to criticise the way the women were acting.

"Can I just say something? You are representing businesswomen today and I have to say that it is outrageous the way that you are behaving," she said.

"70% of my management team are women and I've never come across anything like this."

Brady was right of course - the rudeness of the contestants and their inability to respect or listen to one another made me realise immediately that in the days following the show's broadcast, commentators and newspapers would be bound to hold them up as a shining example of why female bosses are a nightmare to work for, or why women are naturally 'catty' in the workplace.

I haven't been disappointed. Liz Jones has done it, using words such as 'bitching' and 'backstabbing' for extra emphasis and proclaiming that:

"We are never going to get out of this recession if this is the best British womanhood has to offer."

She's not the only one - a brief search for news stories and blog posts about last week's episode threw up much talk of women 'letting the side down' and 'catfights'.

It's depressing because on one hand I was appalled by the contestants' behaviour, but on the other I knew the backlash against businesswomen was bound to happen and how unfair it would be.

I may not have risen as far up the career ladder as these women but I'm pretty aware of basic etiquette when it comes to talking over people and letting people have a say in decision-making. The difference between being assertive and being aggressive, you might say. But then again, I don't work in a particularly pressured environment and the show puts the contestants into extremely stressful situations.

The fact is though, when male contestants on the show act like complete losers – which they frequently do, they're not seen as representing all businessmen. Their behaviour doesn't prompt a rash of articles on why men are just so awful to work for and why they're setting a bad example to young men who want to ‘make it’.

The reaction of the public to the antics of the female Apprentice contestants underlined very clearly just how, as women, we face particular challenges when aiming for influence and power in any sphere. Very often, our actions will be held up as symptomatic of the behaviour of all women.

Most of us have probably had to deal with an unpleasant male boss at some point, but it's female executives who are usually painted as evil and scheming, the sort of people nobody wants to work for.

Since the recession hit, there has been much talk of making boardrooms more inclusive and even imposing quotas to make sure women are equally represented. Some people are vocally opposed to such actions and last week’s show is likely to add more fuel to the fire in this respect.

Interestingly, the only female contestant not part of the “girls’ team” was put in charge of the “boys’ team” and excelled as project manager. Stella English was praised by her team, who had no problems with her leadership.

Unfortunately, the male contestants did decide that as the sole woman in the group, she should don beachwear to advertise their product, resulting in a particularly uncomfortable scene where they urged her to ‘take one for the team’ and wear a bikini – as they smirked and sniggered. Some things never change.

This piece originally appeared at BitchBuzz. Image via BBC.

Men, women and food

Today's Observer features a piece by Eva Wiseman entitled 'The truth about men, women and food'. The article discusses the stereotypes surrounding gender and food and the way that these are often explained away by dubious evolutionary psychology.

Stereotypes about the way men and women eat are so easy to reel off that I could be here all day. Men are supposed to love MEAT. Especially BIG STEAKS. And fried breakfasts. Women order salads and nibble Ryvitas while men scoff pasties and chips. We 'indulge' in a 'naughty' biscuit or a 'sinful' chocolate bar. 'Real men' don't eat quiche. Women pick at their food when a man takes them out to a restaurant because they don't want to be seen as 'big eaters'. We love chocolate more than anything else and see cupcakes as an entire lifestyle rather than a sugary snack.

Of course this is all ridiculous and you don't need me to tell you that. I'm not about to start listing all the ways in which I contradict stereotypes about women and food because actually, most people (if they'll admit it) DO contradict these stereotypes in some way. Sadly we all know a lot of people who buy into it and come out with the sort of comments guaranteed to set off my extra special eye roll. The female work colleague who watched a friend tuck into a certain chocolate bar and yelped 'But they're not for girls!'. The men who laughed at my husband for drinking elderflower cordial because apparently such beverages are 'gay'.

It's something I noticed happens a lot when it comes to male/female-only social events within the church. Men get curry nights and prayer breakfasts involving huge platters of bacon and sausages. Women get chocolate fountains and breakfast meetings involving pastries and fruit. Earlier this year, the women in my small group organised a women's get-together in the form of a curry night just to, you know, redress the balance a bit. I'm a big fan of curry and let me tell you, it was a great evening.

Doubtless, this isn't helped by the way food companies market products. Wiseman's article discusses the chocolate industry and the differences between 'masculine' and 'feminine' chocolate bars.

"Jill McCall, brand manager at Cadbury, is careful to point out the difference between the indulgent, feminine bars (Flake, Galaxy) and the masculine "hunger bars" (Boost, Snickers), which are nut-filled and huge, and fill you up rather than provide a girlish "treat", thereby creating markets within markets."

Wiseman then lists some of the ways brands market 'male' and 'female' versions of their products - the Kit Kat Chunky and the Kit Kat Senses. The Twix and the new Twix Fino. Of course the calorie and fat content of the 'female' bars is always a key selling point. If you ever see these brands advertised they'll always make a big deal out of it, much the same as with other 'feminine' foods like yoghurt, cereal and cakes.

The message they'll want to convey is one of indulgence and luxury, of 'treating yourself' and 'being naughty' - yet remaining comparatively low in fat and calories. On the other hand plenty of men feel that consuming any food or drink claiming to be 'low fat' or 'guilt free' is going against everything it means to be male.

One triumph of culture when it comes to food is of course, the Noughties obsession with cupcakes. Ten years ago they were something small children ate at birthday parties. Now, of course, they're a symbol of a certain sort of woman and a certain sort of lifestyle. They're served at weddings and baby showers. And cupcake bakeries make a fortune from people popping in for their weekly 'indulgence'.

As the article tells us, boys are socialised from a young age to eat big portions and this has a major impact on the way they see food. Concepts of masculinity usually involve the ability to eat huge platefuls and large amounts of meat or dubious takeaways. On the other hand, women are socialised to associate food with shame, guilt and worry far more about what they should and shouldn't consume. Men might be mocked for eating salad or being vegetarian - and eating for so many women has become an depressing pantomime of not eating a big plateful, vowing to go to the gym later, trying to lose just a couple of pounds before Christmas or the summer or a big night out.

This is an interesting piece which casts a critical eye over modern assumptions about food and gender. In conclusion, Wiseman quotes Dr David Bell:

We're living in a culturally rich time, and are more than able to divide food into categories, including one for 'food that people like me eat'. So, men don't eat steak because they are men, men eat steak to show they are men. Women aren't hard-wired to crave dessert – we've learned that women crave dessert, so we follow, mouths open.

So there you have it. As is usually the case, men and women aren't really 'hard-wired' to like certain foods at all. Just as my attraction to the colour pink and my ability at maths has nothing to do with cavemen, neither does the way I eat. Not that this fact is going to stop ridiculous advertisements for chocolate and yoghurts or stop people feeling like they can't eat something which somehow marks them out as a traitor to their gender, but we can dream.

Image via angelsk's Flickr.

More filler and some sad news

With two days to go until my half marathon, I'm sitting around doing very little in my spare time aside from clearing the backlog on my Google Reader and tweeting about how much I love the new-ish Zara website which just about makes up for the fact we don't have a store here in Peterborough.

I'm already starting to look forward to the build-up to Christmas, pointless 'Winterval' stories galore in the tabloids and people landing on this very blog by searching for 'Is Advent Conspiracy liberal?' or 'Is Advent Conspiracy socialist?'. It's a sad reflection on the attitudes of Christians when an organisation challenges them to spend less on presents and instead donate time or money to helping good causes or their church family - yet all they're worried about is whether or not this is an inherently 'liberal' or 'socialist' act and how awful that is.

Yet again I have some links to share before normal service resumes (hopefully) very soon and depending on how busy I am.

- This Comment is Free piece from earlier in the week entitled 'Feminism's Generation Wars' discusses recently-voiced opinions about supposed tensions between women who were active in the movement 30 and 40 years ago and the younger feminists of today. Unfortunately at times it comes across as reinforcing some problematic attitudes and unfair portrayals of younger feminists.
- An interesting and debate-generating post from RedHeadFashionista about journalists, bloggers and the influence they have, in turn inspired by this post about 'influential bloggers'.
- Today we heard the genuinely sad news that the next issue of Subtext magazine will be the last. Subtext has provided me with interesting reading for a long time now and I know for a fact that Gill and Charlotte's efforts have inspired a lot of women who want to create alternative women's magazines themselves and live in hope that one day we'll see more publications like it.

Just As Beautiful - now available in print

The UK's first magazine solely aimed at and featuring plus-size women has made the transition from online to print, generating a lot of discussion in the process.

Just As Beautiful magazine, which has been available to subscribers in online format for three years, can now be purchased via its website. When i tweeted the news this morning my words were met with several irritated reactions from friends and followers - people who sit in the 'plus size' category themselves yet feel that a magazine that singles them out is patronising and offensive to women whatever their size. People who aren't plus size and felt the language used by the magazine is negative and defeats the object of being more inclusive.

I took a look at the press release about the magazine's launch and I have to say, it rubbed me up the wrong way immediately. Reference to Christina Hendricks? Check. References to 'size zero' and 'impossibly skinny' models? Check. Footnote declaring that 'Men prefer women with curves'? Oh yes.

There's some good points in there - the fallacy of the diet industry, the editor's statement that she wants readers to feel they shouldn't have to change the way they look to be happy. But really, did it have to packaged alongside all that 'size zero debate' (come on, it's not 2006), 'what men really want' rubbish?

Whenever I talk to women about magazines they usually make two main points. Firstly, how much they'd love to read publications which feature a wide variety of women and secondly how much they'd love to read publications which didn't insist on telling us 'what men REALLY want' every issue. In an ideal world this would work out fine. I'd love to see magazines which really support women and don't rely on pitting us against each other by making snide comments about what's supposedly attractive and what's not. It's such a tabloid tactic - women vs women, good for a bitchy feature.

Many mainstream women's magazines are guilty of fatphobia. I don't this means that publications seeking to be inclusive and raise self esteem should go the other way and start promoting themselves alongside quotes about the desirability of 'curves' and comments about the bodies of models - who incidentally, are 'real women' too, no matter how thin they are. And while plus size women may shop at different places to those usually featured in mainstream magazines, what's with all the rest of the content especially aimed at the larger woman? I couldn't help feeling that this setting apart has got undertones of those times when major fashion magazines produce one issue featuring curvier or older models, yet refuse to feature them at any other time of the year.

I started a discussion about Just As Beautiful at a community I'm part of, laying out my thoughts and feelings about the way the launch has come across first. The general consensus was that while the magazine's aim is probably in the right place, it's not something any of the women who commented on the post would want to buy. The magazine's title was a major sticking point. You can't deny that it's a fine example of an almost unbearably patronising title. When I was growing up there was a plus size shop in my town named 'Pretty Big' and to be honest Just As Beautiful has that same level of cringe about it.

Some noteworthy comments:

"There is a major issue of fatphobia in women's magazines but by publishing this, they're shooting everyone in the foot. Specialist magazine showcasing plus size women and issues = no longer concern of regular magazine because there's a magazine doing all that. What little exposure plus size women/issues get in other women's magazines might go *poof* in light of this..."

"Just because my body is a particular size or shape, it doesn't mean that i'm going to automatically need to read all about it, you know? I'm not just a body, grasping for anything that vaguely might resemble me. And if it had some intelligent articles about women's bodies, the problems facing all sizes in the media - it'd be different. But this just seems reductive and patronising."

"I've always felt that even though I'm a size 16/18, I have exactly the same lifestyle, goals, interests as a size 6/8 woman. It means that a fat woman's lifestyle is dictated by her fat, and suggests that they need to approach life in a different way from a slimmer woman, which is perverse. Although I 'fit in' with this magazine's target audience, the fact I still live my life as I would whether I was bigger or smaller means that it's entirely redundant to me. I dress how I want to dress, I socialise how I want to socialise, I have attractive partners to whom I'm genuinely attracted...I'm strong academically, I have distinct ambitions. And none of that has anything to do with my size."

"...it makes me feel really uncomfortable when plus-sized women...are labelled as 'real' women - thin women aren't imaginary! It's another way of saying that attractiveness in a woman is defined by whether or not men find her attractive. Aside from the inherent heteronormativity in that way of thinking, it's just plain misogynistic."

Overall there was a feeling that trying to keep two groups of women separate purely because of size is a negative thing and that magazines should be trying harder to be inclusive of everyone.

Obviously there's the other side of the coin to consider. According to its editor, the magazine has achieved great popularity over the last three years and has proved a great find for women who feel excluded by mainstream mags. You can't disagree that many of these magazines display an extremely dismissive attitude towards women who aren't thin, most obviously when it comes to features about clothes. As I mentioned above, there's the one-off issues 'celebrating' women who aren't young, white and thin but sadly that's all they are: one-offs.

These magazines do need to do better. Stop sending your size ten writers off to get Harley Street treatments for 'that stubborn tummy roll' or 'those nightmare saddlebags'. Stop pretending that crash diets are normal. Start taking a more inclusive approach to fashion. Maybe then women bigger than size 12 won't feel like they need a separate magazine to cater to their interests and lifestyles.

There is a problem with self esteem linked to women's magazines and by being critical of Just As Beautiful I'm in no way criticising its readership or its original aims. But it's certainly something which has got a lot of people talking and many things about it have made me uncomfortable.

A few good links

A lot of my time recently has been taken up with life in general and it's been nice, but hasn't left much time for blogging. I'm training for the Great Eastern Run and with two weeks to go that's keeping me pretty busy so you'll have to excuse the fact that some of these posts have been around for a while now. It's taken me a while to get round to compiling this post - so here, have a few links to things I've been looking at recently.

- I can't believe I've only just been alerted to the existence of Fat Quarter, a 'woman-friendly' publication/site which was set up 'as an antidote to the rafts of women's glossies' (which is what I like to hear). Go and see for yourself or better still, purchase a copy!
- Speaking of woman-friendly enterprises, I'm delighted to be involved in a new project - Siren magazine, spearheaded by my friend Felicity of The Tempest in the Teacup. Inspired by alternative women's magazines and websites, Siren plans to provide food for thought for women who are sick of reading features about diets and finding a man. I believe women want - and need more. Inspiring content on careers, relationships, news and issues, culture, creativity and hobbies. Technology, travel, sport and women who are making a difference. Siren launches on October 1st so keep your eyes peeled.
- Ruth Rosselson writes about why fast fashion is a feminist issue, discussing the ethical issues surrounding garment production and the way that fashion companies do business, arguing that we need to see drastic changes to make sure that the people who help produce clothes are treated more fairly. A few days ago I was discussing with friends on Twitter how an emphasis on ethical clothing can exclude people who don't have the money to pay for it and obviously there are not just 'fast fashion' issues but class issues having an impact here. In short, there are many problems to take into consideration.
- Cath Elliott has done a sterling job of compiling a list of UK feminist bloggers. Plenty of great sites to explore.
- A piece from the Guardian details the full horror of the extent to which female genital mutilation is being inflicted on girls worldwide, with emphasis on the fact that up to 2,000 British girls have undergone 'cutting' this summer. Although it is illegal for anyone to perform FGM on a permanent UK resident, no prosecutions have been made.
- A brilliant post from Sian entitled "If I Was A Superhero".

Last year's Great Eastern Run caused me to miss Feminism in London but this year they're being held on different weekends so I will be attending the conference. Call this advance warning because I'm a big fan of meeting up with blogging acquaintances at events like this. Hope to see some of you there!