There is no set theme as such to this particular paste up, its mainly that I've been thinking a lot about the music we've covered these past six months or so on The F-Word, and my mind has been boggling about how we've managed to recruit such a fantastic group of writers who have written such excellent reviews. A big thank you to you all.

I was a bit nervous about what I was getting myself into when I was accepted as one of the two music review editors, and whilst I've found it a bit fraught at times, it has been a series of very interesting encounters and experiences, and I hope that will continue.

To kick things off this time, here is a Dear Reader aka Cheri MacNeil, with an acoustic version of her new single 'Monkey' (Go home now), which is released on 23 January. You will be hearing more of Cheri on The F-Word in the near future.

A year or two back someone mentioned the band Pettybone to me as an example of post riot grrrl punkiness. Whilst being intrigued, I didn't hear anything more about the band until I spotted this interview piece with the band over on Wears The Trousers... Natalie Dzerins, who is guest blogging for us this month, rates them as well and I await further developments with interest.

Following our recent review of St Vincent's Strange Mercy I've been watching this clip of Annie Clark performing the poignant 'Cheerleader' on Conan O'Brien's show in the US, and enjoying it very much.

I have also been enjoying this video by Arcade Fire

Whilst awaiting the new Chairlift album Something, which is out on 24 January. This single served as a taster when it was released last year.

Other things I've been thinking about these past few weeks have been the many genres of music we've yet to cover on The F-Word. We haven't done much on the various genres and sub genres that loosely make up what is lazily dubbed dance music for example, we haven't done much on opera or classical music, on R'n'B, or... on metal. I wasn't actually looking specifically for a site on feminism and metal, but chance searching one night has introduced me to feministheadbanger, and I shall be keeping an eye on it.

Another area we haven't even touched on is the (again, lazily dubbed) Asian music scene, and it was nice, after a certain amount of tentative coverage of the Asian Music Awards last year to stumble across the piece on women in the Asian music scene. As the piece points out, many of these women are unsigned or have set up their own companies, and "a diamond isn't a diamond unless it's been mined!" Quite.

This video is a few years old now, but I still like it.

I've also found an equally interesting piece piece on hip hop feminism.

Are there any genre's of music you'd like to see us write about on the F-Word? Is there a really great artist you'd like to see us cover? Or do you know someone who knows all there is to know about dubstep, grime, R'n'b, desi or soul? Are you a feminist you likes metal? Please do get in touch.

Image of DJ Kayper from the BBC Asian Network website

0 comments // Permalink

Lisbeth Salander is back, with a vengeance.

While some of you might be asking: "Lisbeth who??", the others have been familiar with her since 2008, when the first volume of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was published in the UK.

Back in 2009, Melanie Newman reviewed the book for us and Jess McCabe wondered about the politics of drastically changing the title of the novel for the English edition (from, translated literally from Swedish, "Men who hate women", to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Since then, various internet feminist spaces have been rife with debate along the lines of: "Does Lisbeth Salander deserve the name of a 'feminist heroine' or is she just a patriarchal construct, the result of one white heterosexual man's misogynistic, sexually titillating fantasies?"

After Swedish film adaptations of all three volumes in 2009, David Fincher (Seven, Alien 3) directed the Hollywood version last year.

Our new reviewer (although seasoned guest blogger) Chrissy D joins the fray by looking at the latest portrayal of bisexual hacker girl, played by Rooney Mara. As Chrissy chooses to focus only on this particular incarnation of Lisbeth, you don't need thorough prior knowledge of the character. She asks in her review:

So why is Lisbeth Salander globally regarded as a feminist in the opinion of critics and reviewers? In analysing her levels of kicking ass, it's helpful to start by considering whether a feminist hero must - as is suggested by the movie's worldwide reception - be kick-ass to be considered feminist. And, more importantly, does an on-screen feminist have to suffer a traumatic experience in order to 'deserve' the label?

Click to read the whole text and comment.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out now nationwide.

Picture © 2011 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

0 comments // Permalink

A guest post from Chrissy D on the body improvement project relentlessly marketed to new Mums.

When I am told it seems impossible that I am the mother of a one year old, it is delivered as a compliment. It has even been received as a compliment on many occasions. But after the initial nods and thanks I started to think: I really look like I couldn't possibly be a mother? I was there, I saw (and felt) my son come into the world, so I promise it happened. So, I wonder, why is my body producing this conflicting image?

This week, Ditching Dieting protesters marched in front of Westminster to highlight and condemn the diet industry's relentless psychological, social and physical assault on women's bodies with its inexhaustible tagline: you're female, ergo you deserve be on a diet. Anthony Giddens called the anxiety of what to make of one's body in contemporary culture the 'manufactured uncertainty of everyday life', and it's an uncertainty perpetuated - most of us would agree - by a multi-billion dollar industry. At no time is this uncertainty more utilised for profit by the infamous industry than right after a woman has had her first child.

The semiotics of motherhood are pretty; a bouquet of purple logos, cuddly mascots, chirpy commercials. But the overriding message to new mothers today is an amplification of that to the female consumer in general: now you've got some work to do, and we're not talking about lactation.

As I've hinted before when writing about our covertly two-tier healthcare system, new mothers are told not only that our bodies are not our own, but that we're actively working against them. We're told by our midwives to breastfeed, while being bombarded with formula brands at every consumer juncture. We're told that lactation will help our uteruses contract and get back into 'shape', while the cuddly little Aptamil bear tells us he has the real essential iron-enriched solution. We're told our bodies will never be the same again, but that we must try to get them as close as possible to the original; a sloppy imitation. In short, the culturally manufactured experience of motherhood is one of being on a pretty, purple, 'do the best you can to love yourself despite your new vocation' diet.

The first time I was addressed with the, 'you totally can't tell you had a baby' exclamation coincided with my son's first day at nursery. My (inner) reaction surprised me. I wanted to cycle as fast as I could to his little nursery, tear him away from his triangular cheese sandwiches and hold him above my head like glorious evidence: "but I AM a mummy! Ask him, he'll tell you!" But the socially acceptable me just smiled, blushed slightly, whilst trying to be grateful. Mothers are culturally compartmentalised as real or impossible, standard or impressive, according to their body type.

You are what your body says you are, but you probably want to override it with the right willpower, faith in consumerism and media-driven motivation. We are encouraged to distrust our bodies and buy into an outside solution. A real mother is 'full of curves' but must be trying to lose them. I must be a figment of everyone's imagination.

Netmums' recent launch of "the woman behind the mum" sums up this cultural narrative (the female you really want to be behind the distrustful, slovenly, train-wreck mother you are) in seven easy sections: hair, beauty, fashion, fitness, health, diet, sex. So that is, in summary, what I am when I'm not busy mothering! The suggestions are for when you finally get a few hours sleep and can start to refocus your attention on the truly pressing issues and there are guides on hair-straightening, fake tanning and foot care. I don't know about anyone else, but 'footcare' hasn't yet returned to my to-do list.

I don't argue that an interest in one's appearance is not a worthwhile one, but that reinvention and the body project are marketed as the only one valid for a new mum.

The media's pornographication of health and youth intensifies the new mother's body project yet further. Getting "back into shape" has become an absolutely ingrained phrase in postnatal lingo and is also utterly meaningless. It suggests trying to retrieve something lost, something that you left somewhere but you can't remember where. Something (a 'you') that perhaps only exists on Netmums. For the beauty and diet industry, a new mother is taught to be the perfect consumer: looking to get back something precious that they hadn't anticipated losing in the first place, the value of which they hadn't previously realised. We are now told that we had it, lost it and now have to buy it back.

Germaine Greer highlighted the way in which the archetypal maternal physique is seen as 'monstrous' and must be narrowed as soon as possible after delivery to something 'boyish' and flat, as the myth that freedom through eternal youth is perpetuated. Mothers are told in no uncertain terms, "this is what maternity looks like" and then are shamed by the diet and parenting industries into trying to look the opposite, to be attractive and free again.

And what of those mums for whom the 'full bosom of maternity' isn't a reality? The manufactured uncertainty of 'real woman' awaits.

Adapted picture by joellehatem, shared under a creative commons licence. This shows a scrabble board featuring the words "media", "fashion", "entertainment", "diet", "cosmetics" and "advertising" as "industries Shaping Women's Self Esteem".

0 comments // Permalink // Tags: body image, diets, motherhood, self help, weight

Behind the statistics. This guest post is by Lizzy Owen

One in four women have experienced rape or attempted rape. At least 47,000 women are raped in the UK each year.

I am one of them. So are many women in my social circle, I just don't know about it because it's a subject that remains shameful and taboo.

When it happened to me it was a friend of friend. I've never told her, but I am about to tell the entire world here. Until we all start to talk about what happens every day to thousands of women we will never be able to smash the culture of abuse that allows it to happen.

I never reported what happened to me because I thought no-one would believe me. Because a part of me thought it was my fault and that I deserved it. Because I was ashamed.

I'd met him before, he was a good friend of my best mate and so when he was in London for an interview it seemed perfectly natural we should meet up. He met me after I finished work for a drink. We went to see a late film and got the last tube back. As it was late, it seemed a good option for him to see me home. Safer to share the journey with a friend, I thought, seeing as it was a fair walk from the station to my flat in a dodgy part of town. There was a sofabed he could kip on. Why wouldn't I ask him to stay?

Some of what happened later is as clear to me as my own name. The rest is a gaping black hole in my memory as if it's been wiped in a video editing suite. I remember setting up the sofabed for him. I remember that I was wearing my cream silk pyjamas. (I can't to this day wear silk as result of what happened next). I remember him asking me if I would like a shoulder massage and I remember lying face down on the bed with my top undone so he could do so. I remember consenting to all of that.

I don't remember how I ended up face up with him on top of me or how my pajama trousers came to be on the floor. I do remember that I didn't consent to that happening. I do remember his hands feeling really heavy on my skin and him pinning me down quite hard. I remember crying and asking him to stop. I genuinely don't remember what happened after that. I don't know he raped me or if he stopped. I know I allowed him to stay the night and that I slept in my own bed. I may have even made him breakfast.

I remember not wanting to tell anyone about it. Until now I've only told this full story to two people. I certainly didn't tell our mutual friend. I thought she would blame me. I wasn't worried he would hurt her, she was a nice girl. I wasn't. I had a reputation. I'd invited him into my home. I had said yes to the massage. Somehow despite being a feminist and knowing what he had done was wrong I still blamed myself and was so ashamed that I couldn't share this secret with anyone. Especially not the police. And definitely not my family.

So that's my story. I am one of hundreds of thousands of women in Britain who will have experienced something similar in the 15 years since.

One in four. To any man brave enough to read this, that could be your mother, your wife or girlfriend, your sister, your daughter. You know a lot more than four women. You know a lot of women who have been raped or assaulted, you just don't know you do. What frightens me is that we must all know a lot of rapists too. Isn't it time we started a conversation about that?

0 comments // Permalink // Tags: rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, violence against women

In this week's Ask A Feminist, reader Jenny is looking for ways to challenge people who think her bisexuality is all about them...

Dear Laura,

I'd *love* some suggestions for both snappy comebacks and reasoned explanations of The Wrong for when people say "hurr hurr hurr lesbians can I watch". I'm pretty sure I'm bi, but haven't actually had a girlfriend. When I've mentioned this in the past, I've had the above response and been so full of "I can't believe you said that" that my capacity for speech has shut down and I've been reduced to goldfish impressions and walking away.

Some of the people in question are still good friends of mine, on the grounds that when I *have* explained stuff to them they've listened, thought and changed, hence wanting something a bit more productive than "Only if I can watch you and RandomOtherMaleFriend".

Thanks! I feel I should have sorted out all this sort of thing years ago...

- Jenny, Kitten Wrangler, Cambridge

Now this IS annoying. It does seem that for certain guys, usually the kind of men that keep a stack of Nuts and Zoo in the downstairs loo, "bisexual" is short for "will shag anything that moves, preferably all at once". So why wouldn't you want them to get involved?

For those times when you just don't have the patience to get into exactly why this reaction is so full of wrong, I'd suggest throwing it back in his face with an expression of disgust and a quick one-liner:

"I may be bisexual, but I do have standards"
"Thanks, but you'd only ruin the fun"
*insert pun involving not being interested in dick here*

I'm sure Team F-Word can come up with more in comments. You can ladle on the disgusted sarcasm or keep it light, depending on how much you like the person. Playful banter tends to be a good way to make a serious point, because funny people gain respect and attention in social groups and, as I'm sure you'll know, Angry Feminist does not go down well in non-feminist circles.

When it comes to really challenging their reaction (and it's great that you have friends who are willing to listen and change), personally I'd tell them the following. Firstly, my sexuality is not about you. Women having sex with women is not about you; it's not about men at all. The idea that women who are into each other must automatically want or be willing for a guy to get involved if they're bisexual is sexist and homophobic. It implies that women cannot satisfy each other, that a man (read a penis) is required for women to really have fun, and that the straight portion of bisexuality is stronger and more important than the gay part. This is also the kind of thinking beneath the popular idea that bisexual women only kiss each other to get men's attention (and more widely that women should kiss each other to get men's attention, but that's another issue...).

It's also a rather disrespectful and condescending view of bisexuality - your sexuality - this idea that bisexuality is about being hypersexual, out of control, constantly up for it, that bisexual women are easy and undiscerning targets for horny dudes. We may have a bigger pool to choose from, but that doesn't mean we don't have the same range of tastes and preferences as hetero- or homosexual people. Assuming that we'd be any more interested in adding another person to the mix (not that there's anything wrong with three, four or moresomes!) is therefore presumptuous and rude: certainly not the kind of attitude you'd expect from a friend.

Hope that gives you some starting points; anyone else want to chip in?

Want to Ask A Feminist? Email laura[at]thefword.org.uk.

6 comments // Permalink // Tags: ask a feminist, bisexuality, homophobia, sex, sexism

I've recently been doing some blogging for Hazel Davis's How To Be A Daughter project on the topic of mothers in fiction (with a bit of a feminist slant, of course).

As it's the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4, I'm cross-posting my piece about his mother, Pauline. (For more pieces about fictional mothers, keep an eye on How To Be A Daughter!) Hope you enjoy.

Read Adrian Mole's earliest diaries as a teenager, and you'll inevitably sympathise with our titular hero. Male or female, you cannot fail to identify with his woes about the state of his skin, school and sex, and his rage and frustration at the ineptitude and selfishness of his parents. His father George's affair with Stick Insect Doreen Slater results in the birth of baby Brett; his mother Pauline's affair with next-door neighbour Ratfink Lucas leads to confusion over the paternity of little Rosie.

It's Pauline who bears the brunt of Adrian's anger, though; she's the one who he deems too old to have a baby, she's the one who abandons him as she dashes off to her Sheffield lovenest, she's the one he compares unfavourably to all the other mothers he knows. She doesn't put the needs of her menfolk above her own; she doesn't imitate the maternity-wear stylings of Princess Diana. For Adrian, she's a failure as a mother.

Come back to the book as an adult, though, and your view will have changed markedly. Pauline's undergoing a feminist awakening at a charged political time: a woman is prime minister but is destroying the working-classes, and the only challenger to her role as most prominent British female is a smiling, silenced princess, chosen to step into the spotlight because of her virginity and then her marriage to a royal man. After spending a miserable childhood in the potato fields of Norfolk with her fundamentalist Christian parents, and then her adult life running around after her husband and son, it's no wonder that Pauline takes so readily to a new world of Germaine Greer, Greenham Common and assertiveness training.

But this is still early on in the progression of the popular feminist movement in the UK. Pauline starts to realise that she could have more than just her role as wife and mother: she proudly and excitedly (and inappropriately) declares to her son that her lover Lucas "fulfils my sexual needs. No more, no less". Yet she realises soon enough that being treated like a 'sex object' by her boyfriend is no more satisfying that being treated as a skivvy by her husband and son; and more than that, this episode results in another pregnancy - and the only benefits she can identify to having another child are the increased family allowance and the possibility that she'll have a little girl this time round. After all, what is attractive about motherhood when all it can offer to her is a variety of medical issues and further isolation from the outside world?

There are signs, though, that Pauline's mindset has changed and she has no intention of ever again adopting her traditional homemaker role, no matter how much her husband and son may wish it. She informs them that if she wishes to go walking in the Hindu Kush, she will strap her imminent baby on her back and go; and once Rosie is born, we see George ironing baby clothes and being a hands-on dad. (We also see him threatening Adrian, "If you laugh, I'll kill you" - George may well have adopted an ostensibly New Man approach within the home, but it seems that it's just because he's scared Pauline will leave him again if he doesn't, rather than any change in his belief system. Still, it's a start.)

Adrian is, of course, rather a staid teenager, and his ideas about appropriate gender behaviour seem largely to be modelled on his dad's: he's not that keen on women's independence because of the impact it will have on his own life. For example, he tells his beloved girlfriend Pandora - brainy and beautiful - that he wants to marry her when they're 16, after which he wouldn't mind her having a job in a little cake shop because she will otherwise be occupied with looking after their children and baking bread in their kitchen, which is met with scorn. Still, the men in Adrian's world all learn to keep their mouths shut, at least: George whispers that women should be at home cooking so he won't be 'karate-chopped to death'; the postman declares that runaway wives should be given a 'thrashing' and Adrian points out that if anyone tried to lay a finger on his mother, she would 'beat them to pulp'.

This is significant because Pauline is by no means a physically imposing presence. We learn that she is quite a small person - 'much smaller since you stopped wearing high heels,' says her husband - and this idea that she would be able to defend herself in a fight is surely based on the fact that she is now prepared to defend herself verbally. She has developed a strong sense of self and she is not prepared to concede that to anyone, particularly not the men who claim to love her but really just want to control her.

Pandora may happily express her wish to have six children and be editor of The Times - such an idea had never previously occurred to Pauline or the women of her generation, and through Adrian's diaries we see a microcosm of cataclysmic social change.

0 comments // Permalink

My first post for this guestblog was on women in punk bands who'd influenced me when I was growing up. At the end, I lamented that when I was a teenager there were very few punk bands that were either comprised of or fronted by women for me to get into. However, that's not to say they didn't exist, or don't now - I just wasn't aware of them. With that in mind, I thought I'd write a post about great bands I'm currently listening to that are still playing gigs and recording new music. Links on band names will lead to music.

First up absolutely has to be Husbands N Knives - a four piece old school riot grrrl band from Torquay. Reminiscent of and equally as brilliant as vanguards such as Bikini Kill and L7, with song titles such as "Nazi Bull Dyke", they're an absolute must-listen. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter for updates and gig announcements.

Slightly more established, but completely different, are Dirty Revolution, a Cardiff-based female fronted punk/ska band. These guys remind me of Sonic Boom Six when they were good. (I did tell SB6 to go back in time and split up after their first album but it turns out it's not nice when strangers offer you unsolicited advice like that. I digress.) Anyway, DR are pretty damn cool. They don't always tackle explicitly "feminist" issues (though there's a nice song called 50p which has a cool body-positive message), they mix it up with tackling issues such as racism in the scene, which always gets the thumbs up. Again, they can be found on Facebook for updates/gigs.

Third are a band I accidentally discovered when they were booked for a gig I was helping put on at the Bristol Reclaim The Night march after-party last year. They're called Drunken Butterfly and are a young three-piece who veer between hard riot grrrl and soft, melodic folk-punk. Definitely a band to watch out for. Find them on Facebook.

Pettybone are another four-piece riot grrrl band (I really like four-piece riot grrrl bands, if you couldn't tell by now), this time hailing from London. As well as the riot grrrl, they also show strong crust and hardcore influences. I saw them at the Green Door Store in Brighton a week or so ago. The amount of energy produced by them is amazing, and the sheer noise that Amy (vocals) can produce is seriously impressive. They can be followed for gigs and updates on Blogger.

Last up, I'm going to break the rules (shut up, it's my guest blog spot) and include an all-male band called ONSIND. They're a three piece acoustic punk band from Durham, and there's a very good reason for their inclusion. With an album titled "Dworkin's Bastards", and songs including "If You Feel Attacked By Feminism, It's Probably A Counter-Attack", "Heterosexuality Is A Construct" and "That Takes Ovaries", they're probably the best feminist ally-band I've ever heard. They can be found on Facebook too.

As ever, I'd love to see your recommendations in the comments - they don't have to be punk or riot grrrl, just great local/small bands. Hell, are you in a band? Do a bit of shameless self-promotion!

Image by gaelx, shared under a Creative Commons Licence.

1 comment // Permalink // Tags: music, punk, riot grrrl

Last week, the government of Sweden took the decision to retain a 1972 gender recognition law under which TS/TG and gender variant people who want to change their legal gender are required to be sterilised. According to Ulrika Westerlund, President of RFSL (the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights), this was done to satisfy the conservative Christian Democrat party who, along with the nationalist Sweden Democrat party, are the only two groups in favour of the law. I gather that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld was fully aware that this reqiurement is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights which is enacted as law in Sweden.

The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, has made a very clear stand on the issue, that forcing TS/TG and gender variant people to undergo unwanted medical interventions in order to change their legal gender is a breach of human rights. The Comittee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, representing 47 membership states has taken a similar stand. The bitter irony in all this is, of course, that while Sweden is often considered to be in the forefront of human rights advocacy and implementation, this decision would seem to be a huge step backwards.

Concerns have been voiced at the loss of the opportunity to bring the legislation up to date: in Sweden, the law is only reviewed every forty years and it already creates at least one anomaly, in that the present law also requires TS/TG and gender variant people to be single in order to receive legal gender recognition - and this in a country which already has same sex marriages. Courts have previously overruled this requirement, but nevertheless it is still enshrined in the law. Additionally, there is the risk of setting a precedent and this is a particular worry for some TS/TG and gender variant people in Finland where the gender equality ombudsman has recommended that Finland should remove a similar requirement from the Finnish law. Finland also has a Christian Democratic Party in its Government which has already blocked a reform giving same sex couples the right to marry.

Although Sweden is not alone in upholding the requirement of forced sterilisation (the Netherlands, Denmark and France are other European countries with similar legislation [source]), the outcry on various TS/TG forums was immediate and international; amongst others, Human Rights Watch, the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights and TGEU and ILGA-Europe have all made formal statements of protest to the Swedish Prime Minister and Parliament, calling for the immediate abolition of the forced sterilisation requirement for legal purposes.

Meanwhile, All Out, an activist group advocating for improvements in the lives of LGB & T people worldwide, has joined with RFSL to launch an online petition to let the Swedish Prime Minister know that this legislation is unacceptable. The petition currently has over 36,000 signatories and is aiming for at least 50,000. If this is something you feel you can support, then please sign - and distribute the information and the link as widely as you can.

http://allout.org/stop_forced_sterilization/

------------

Image: transgender symbol on blue and yellow background compiled from public domain images in Wikimedia Commons (here and here) by Helen

0 comments // Permalink // Tags: enforced sterilisation, human rights, Sweden, trans rights

Last autumn, BPAS opened a new clinic in Stratford, London, to provide a free walk-in service and was met almost immediately with protests by members of the Christian Peoples Alliance party, 40 days for Life and SPUC with some local residents. According to the Newham Recorder of 2 November 2011:

The protest was opened by Alan Craig, ex-Newham councillor and former leader of Newham Christian People's Alliance [...]

Joining Alan was Dr Majid Katme from the Islamic Medical Association. He said: "Today is not a one-off event, but only the beginning of this campaign." Friar Mark Swires, a local Catholic priest, also led the group in prayer outside the BPAS centre.

It seems that Dr Majid Katme's statement is not without foundation; indeed, it looks as though the protest has now escalated from handing out magazines and flyers outside the clinic. As the Newham Recorder reported on 13 January 2012:

Around 15 residents and neighbours addressed a petition to Mike Sweeny, chief executive of One Housing, claiming they were misled by the planning application for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) centre on Romford Road which simply read "clinic" online.

The campaign is now continuing with a team of protestors distributing information flyers outside the association's base in Chalk Farm, north London.

Daniel Blackman, speaking for SPUC, added: "This was just the first of our protests outside One Housing. We plan to be back".

As Clare Murphy, for BPAS, says (and personally, I'm inclined to agree with her):

BPAS is a charity that has worked to support women for over 40 years and we are pleased that we are now able to provide care in East London. It is disappointing that groups with an ethical objection to abortion are seeking to start a campaign to stop women getting access to sexual health services they need.

[Public domain image via Wikipedia Commons]

3 comments // Permalink // Tags: anti-choicers, London, protest

This is a guest post by the organisers of the Go Feminist conference: Adunni Adams, Caroline Varin, Chitra Nagarajan, Giordy Bunting, Ilse Morgensen, Kate Rowley, Lola Okolosie, Mary Bonett, Sandhya Sharma, Shannon Harvey and Charmaine Elliott.

On 4th February, the Go Feminist conference will be held in London. Throughout the programme, we aim to highlight feminist perspectives you may not normally hear.

We do this as a response to feminism's most sustained critique: that it is not for all women. Although women from all backgrounds and communities identify with feminist beliefs, the movement still does not completely take into account their needs and realities. Too often in our feminist spaces, the voices of a few are privileged. Race is inadequately dealt with. Our spaces, both physical and virtual, are inaccessible to women living with disabilities. Trans women's involvement is actively discouraged.

We set up Go Feminist partly to respond to this. However this conference is not an answer but more a continuation of a conversation. Our starting point is the recognition that within the marginalised group of "women", there are further oppressions. Our movement needs to respond to this and disrupt all existing power structures to be truly meaningful. The feminist story belongs to all women everywhere. Broadening our analysis to include forms of oppressions in addition to patriarchy and focusing on the most forgotten, vulnerable and marginalised gives a better chance of capturing all women. We also believe that we need to make the links between feminism and other movements. 2011 was an exciting year for activism, but from Tahrir Square to Liberty Square, women struggled to have their voices heard. Feminism should be the thread that connects across these struggles, but we have yet to make these connections systematically.

Go Feminist is our attempt to make these connections, to promote a feminist discussion that is representative of, and responsive to, these intersections of oppressions: a feminist movement for all women.

After all, this is a conversation of many voices. Go Feminist was set up by activists for activists. In the spirit of representing the multifaceted concerns of feminists, we have garnered most of our workshop and panel ideas from suggestions received. The conversations are not set in stone: we believe that we need to create spaces for honest sharing and learning so that we see how our feminist action connects across and within different locations to make women's equality reality. It is through a wider, more holistic examination of our lived realities that the richness of our movement can be realised and genuine alliances forged.

We are by no means a singular voice crying out for a more representative picture of our movement. Women have been raising these issues for many years. Currently in the States is a campaign, led by men against all white male panels. They too understand that a lack of in the diversity of opinion makes for a stagnant conversation. It means the same ideas are worked over. Go Feminist recognises that ensuring our spaces reflect this philosophy is not easy. However, this is not enough of a justification for the failure of attempt that we have sometimes seen. We ourselves are by no means beyond criticism. For example, all parts of our venue are not fully accessible. Although this is the result of financial constraints, we nevertheless agree that it is not good enough and will ensure this does not happen again. In future, all spaces we use will be fully accessible.

We need to shift and broaden our gaze to reconfigure the terrain of what is feminist, to look up and see the interconnectedness of our world. We live in a world of interlocking hierarchies and oppressions. It must be part of our feminist mission to dismantle this. Go Feminist actively works to combat ableism, ageism, class privilege, heteronormativity and homophobia, rascim, sexism, transphobia and all other forms of discrimination and prejudice. Please join us on 4th February for a day where we can share ideas and create change.

Tickets are now available on a sliding scale from £0-£50, depending on what you can afford, at www.gofeminist.org.uk.

2 comments // Permalink

More recent blog posts