I know you had no idea, but: feminism's back!

On the subject of feminism being 'back', you know how I feel. If you don't, it can be summed up in three simple points.

1) It never went away!

2) According to the media, the 'new feminism' has been undergoing a resurgence since round about 2005. Clearly it's not 'new' any more.

3) The 'new' feminist activism actually focuses on more than lad's mags, assuring men that they can be feminists too, and Playboy. Not that you would think it, because most other issues aren't titillating or 'controversial' enough for the papers.

Monday afternoon. Enter a Guardian piece entitled 'Feminists hail explosion in new grassroots groups'. Let's get a few things straight. I don't think this is a bad thing. I like the fact that it talks about teenagers organising a feminist group at their school (I'm not sure I had any real awareness of gender issues whatsoever when I was their age, sadly, so good for them). I think the fact that the number of grassroots feminist organisations in the UK has doubled in the past two years is awesome. I obviously have no issue with men expressing solidarity and challenging problematic patriarchy-related issues.

But I do think that yet again, it needs to be said that it would do the Guardian et al good to step outside their comfort zone and discuss the 'new feminism' without going over the same issues, without getting quotes from the same people, and without failing to represent the movement accurately. Sian has also blogged about this today. She says:

"...the ‘new feminism’ is repeatedly portrayed as being only and always focused on matters pertaining to sexual objectification in itself, away from its impact. They also tend to refuse to acknowledge that there are other feminist orgs beyond UK Feminista, Object and the Anti Porn Men’s Project. I’d love to read a ‘feminism’s back’ article that interviewed other organisations that are active on a range of vital feminist issues. Sexual objectification and the sex industry is a huge issue that impacts on many, many issues that need to be tackled. It doesn’t exist in isolation and it shouldn’t be reported without investigation of its impact. By portraying the movement as only focused in this area, the media is doing feminism, and the orgs being represented, a big disservice."

Actually, when it portrays the movement as solely focused on 'objectification', it not only does feminism a huge disservice, it also annoys a lot of people. People who campaign on other issues or mainly focus on other things, and feel that their voices and their causes don't matter. People who, just for once, would like to see a celebratory article that talks about other issues on the feminist spectrum. How do I mean? Well, other people have been writing in response to the article. Adunni Adams, on the Black Feminists blog, says:

"The announcement that something (or anything) is happening at the grassroots level of the feminist movement – not to mention the fact that the movement has caught the attention of the mainstream media – could, and should, have reflected the true strength of the movement in its depth, dynamism and diversity at all levels."

And another post that raises some important issues has a similar point to make:

"I do support action which highlights the objectification of women and girls, but there is such diversity within this movement, and it is being ignored. I am glad that these actions are taking place and I don’t wish to criticise participants. I wish to criticise media bias. 

"When our movement is portrayed like this, it actually excludes women and girls who need feminism most. It seems irrelevant. It seems silly. It seems like a hobby."

As I've pointed out before, some of the first negative comments that arise in response to articles like the one in the Guardian on Monday are always those that accuse 'the new feminism' (Media-Acceptable Variety) of being nothing more than a series of get-togethers for middle-class white 'girls' who have nothing better to do with their time than worry about trivial first world problems. And that criticism doesn't just come from trolls 'below the line'. It comes from within the movement, from people who feel excluded and pushed aside by the messages they're seeing in the news and the faces they're supposed to identify with as spokespeople.

I wondered recently whether or not 21st century feminism needs easily-identifiable 'leaders', and expressed concern that media-appointed 'leaders', who very often have no desire to be viewed as such, are often predictably-chosen, cause division, and end up being cast as celebrity activists whether they like it or not. They become the go-to for a soundbite, the go-to for a headshot. The 'important' ones. And funnily enough, they don't often represent a huge amount of diversity. Believe it or not, this ruffles feathers. We've seen it happen over here with that documentary series on feminism from a couple of years ago. We've seen it across the Atlantic with the way discussions about spokespeople and 'leaders' and media-appointed 'influential feminists' (that would be white, straight, affluent ones) play out. I think the media has also got somewhat fixated on the inclusion of men. Yes, we get it. The 'new feminism' isn't about man-hating! These days you can want equality and have a boyfriend at the same time! In trying to make gender equality more palatable, is this focus diluting certain key aspects of feminism?

I'm really pleased that Lexy Topping, who wrote the Guardian piece, has responded in the comments on the Black Feminists blog and detailed how it wasn't her intention to portray the movement in this way. As I said at the beginning of this post, I have no problem with what her article is getting at and I don't think that the other responses I have linked above are meant as an attack on her either. Let's hope the discussion started by all this leads to some more diversity in the future. There is activism beyond Object. But then you knew that, didn't you?

Feminism's back! Again!

If feminism has been in "resurgence" mode for nigh on a decade, why is it still treated as some new fad? 

Last weekend, around 500 people travelled to Birmingham for the second Summer School run by UK Feminista, the organisation which brings together people interested in gender equality and equips them for action. I couldn't make it this time - although I attended last year and had a fantastic weekend. This year's delegates spent two days attending workshops and discussions on topics such as running a feminist group, effective campaigning and engaging with the media. I followed the action via Twitter and was pleased to see so many people coming away inspired and equipped.

I was also pleased to see Summer School, for the second year running, getting some positive attention in the press. But why, yet again, the familiar tone of "recent resurgence", of "new groups", of beliefs being "repackaged" thanks to "the new feminists"? 

Wasn't that the case last year, when we saw a pile of fabulous books discussing 21st century feminism published and The Guardian declared that "Feminism is not finished"? Wasn't that the case in 2008, when the first annual Million Women Rise march took place in London? Wasn't it the case in 2007, when the Observer profiled BitchBuzz's Cate Sevilla in a feature entitled "The new feminists"? What about in 2004, when Reclaim the Night London was revived and UK Feminista founder Kat Banyard put on her first feminist conference?

You get the picture. It must have been some time around 2004 when I first started looking into feminist resources on the internet and noticed that there were new conferences, regional groups and networks starting to pop up. Today, there are many, many more - thanks, of course, to this "resurgence". But as Kat Banyard said in an interview before this year's Summer School:

"We've got this massive resurgence in feminism and the question is not now 'Does it exist?' but 'What can it achieve?'".

Unfortunately, despite the best intentions to give the movement publicity and chronicle an exciting time for women, the media is still somewhat stuck on "Does it exist?" The conclusion reached, of course, is always "yes", but it's still hard to find coverage which looks past the idea of "the new feminism" as a some sort of fad and delves deeper than portraying it as "Fresh! Rebranded! Cool again! Look what these girls are getting up to!" and ignoring wider issues while also discounting women who have gone before in the process, sometimes resorting to referring to them only as negative stereotypes: those crusty second-wave bra burners.

I know it's often trying to portray the movement in a positive way and support all that's happening. But it's getting a bit old.

Part of it's down to the media's taste for the titillating. Remember when pretty much every single newspaper and news site obsessed over Slutwalk and the protest against the opening of the new Playboy club in London? But of course! It gave them the opportunity to talk about sex and feature pictures of women wearing skimpy outfits. Where are the tabloid spreads when the "new feminists" are talking about the role of women in the Arab Spring or assessing the impact of government cuts on women? Exactly. Reclaim the Night marches have always aimed to address the same issues as Slutwalk, but very few people mentioned this in all the furore about using the word "slut".

The fact is, it won't be long before "the new feminism" is a decade old. Right now, it's not quite there, but its achievements are many and it's engaged a new generation of women with gender equality issues. It's provided a voice against misogyny and a sense of community for those who want to do something when they hear about funding cuts to women's services or the shameful rape conviction rate or see a lack of options available to their young daughters. True, the media's interest in feminism really has returned in the last two or three years - and this in turn has inspired many young women, but let's not forget all the women, groups and events that have been paving the way for longer than that.

Come on, newspapers, let's move past the fad of  "the resurgence among young women" and towards recognising that gender equality is for everyone, helps everyone and isn't just some trend, something to cover in what is essentially the same article, a two or three times a year. It's really great when you give the movement coverage, but it's time to diversify.

This "rebranding" has been going on for a long time now; I think it's safe to say that we're not just "back" - we never went away. Yes, there's been a resurgence in activism getting mainstream media attention. But stop acting so surprised and consider, as Kat Banyard said, what it can achieve.

This post originally appear at BitchBuzz. Image via sizemore's Flickr.

UK Feminista Summer School 2010

I spent my weekend in London learning about organizing, campaigning and engaging with politicians and the media as part of UK Feminista's Summer School, an event aiming to provide activist training and networking opportunities for those of a feminist bent. I think it must have achieved what it set out to do because I've returned home full of ideas, confidence and motivation and having met some great people. Looking on Twitter it's obvious that plenty of others feel the same and have been able to take such a lot away from just two days of seminars and discussions.

Day One - Saturday - kicked off with a panel discussion entitled The Importance of Feminist Organizing, chaired by Tonya Boulton of the Women's Networking Hub. Karin Robinson from Democrats Abroad, Gwendolyn Sterk from the UK Joint Committee on Women and UK Feminista's own Kat Banyard talked about the reasons we need to be organizing and campaigning for women's rights and the positive changes it can effect. Karin brought some inspiring examples from her work on Barack Obama's presidential campaign and spoke of the need to 'respect, include and empower' when training grassroots activists.

After lunch I attended a seminar on how to set up and run a group, led by UK Feminista's Ellie Cumbo. This was a valuable step-by-step guide and I could see it was particularly helpful as there were so many women in attendance who were either already involved in a group or looking to set up something in their local area. Later, I listened to Heather Harvey from Amnesty International UK speak on running an effective campaign. She used the example of Amnesty's well-known - and successful - No Recourse - No Safety campaign and again, provided a hugely helpful list of things to consider and remember.

Day One ended with another panel discussion focusing on The Feminist Year Ahead, featuring Denise Marshall from Eaves, the Fawcett Society's Angela Mason and Sharon Jacobs from UK Feminista. One of the main issues they talked about was the fact that women are set to bear the brunt of public sector cuts and what this will mean, but a wide range of ongoing and upcoming campaigns and events dealing with violence against women and reproductive rights were also mentioned. Above all we were encouraged to get people involved, develop our resources and really make clear why feminism is still needed today.

Day Two opened with a panel on Women and the Media, chaired by Jess McCabe of The F Word and also featuring Hannah Pool and Kira Cochrane. As was to be expected delegates had so much to say on this topic and the discussion could definitely have continued for much longer. Topics covered included under-representation of women in the media, the reception that women writing comment pieces receive, the 'long hours', 'macho' culture of newspapers, the popularity of 'women vs women' features and the way feminism is reported.

Immediately afterwards I attended a seminar with Joanna Inskip of Media Trust's Community Newswire, entitled How to Use the Media. This was absolutely invaluable, even for those of us who already have some media experience - and provided a lot of helpful pointers about how to approach newspapers, what to consider when doing so and how to make sure they publish the story you want to tell. The afternoon session for me consisted of a seminar on influencing politicians with Joy Millward from Principle Consulting and Janet Veitch from End Violence Against Women, who used the example of EVAW's Map of Gaps campaign.

And so the weekend came to an end with a noisy, interesting and controversial feminist Question Time, chaired by Bidisha and also featuring Julie Bindel, Dr Aisha Gill, Sunder Katwala from the Fabian Society and NextLeft and Karen Monaghan QC. Some issues discussed and debated:

- The importance of intersectionality
- Media coverage of feminism
- Academia and the sex industry
- Whether or not the movement needs visible 'leaders'
- Responsible reporting and the notion of the 'good victim' in cases of violence or abuse
- Breaking down elitism
- Is it time for 'less talk, more action?'
- How we should respond to anti-feminists
- Progressive men and how we should include them
- The importance of working together and being united despite differences and what we want to label ourselves as

There were many more seminars that I couldn't attend but I'm sure that other women will be blogging about them very soon (if they haven't already).

One issue raised by a couple of people was that they want to make the move from 'armchair feminism' to activism and getting involved, but were unsure what to do next. As someone who was in this position a couple of years ago, I can say this: it seems overwhelming at first, but there are so many 'first steps' you can take which are a really good starting point. Joining a group. Getting involved in a campaign. Starting to network - even if that means Twitter. Starting up a blog. Talking to your friends about it. Using your strengths and skills, whether that's writing or speaking or caring or performing arts or music or teaching.

There are also more regional groups springing up than ever before. At the weekend we got the opportunity to network with other women from our geographical area and many new connections and plans were made. Before Summer School I'd been having a lot of thoughts about the possibility of a campaign to challenge the way newspapers report rape cases (and in particular false allegations) and how this affects public perception of rape victims. I now feel so much more inspired, encouraged and motivated to get this off the ground. I also had some great conversations with new acquaintances which I hope will lead to good things in the future.

If you didn't attend you'll soon be able to look at resources from the conference on the UK Feminista website. And if you're reading this and have blogged about Summer School, drop me a comment with the link to your post please! Some photos are already up here.