Feminism In London Conference

Saturday 23rd October @ Friends Meeting House, Euston

Speakers:

Natasha Walter (Author of Living Dolls and The New Feminism)

"One day the future that we want will become the present we are living."

Anna Fisher (London Feminist Network)

"We do not want equal rights with men if that means the right to exploit others. We want a different kind of world."

"As we are seeing with the explosion of the “sex industry” which now has a 75 billion dollar annual turnover – bigger than the combined film and music industries. This is money stolen from women. This brutal violent industry is a misogynistic propaganda machine. Because it tells lies and trivialises and glamorises violence, it makes war more likely. And this is how our boy children learn about sex – from the age of 11 on average. And its seepage into the wider culture grooms our girl children to accept a life of sexual objectification."

Finn McKay (Founder of the London Feminist Network)

"Our movement is on the rise in our country again, in this capital city, in those of the Celtic nations and beyond. And as it grows, it is no surprise that we see debate grow about its’ role and form. Over this year I have heard much debate about whether feminism needs to be rebranded. As if a movement that has given us all the advances we today take for granted is something we should be ashamed of. That we can work in many different industries, that we have access to education, that domestic violence is considered a crime, that we can open our own bank accounts. As if a legacy of support services, rape crisis centres, refuges, nurseries, women’s centres, helplines and advocacy provisions that continue to support women, children and men today, are something that we should be embarrassed about."

"Feminism does not need re-branding, it needs re-claiming, and this is something that all of us can do. This is not to say that this is easy, in a culture of backlash against feminism. Where the term is considered a dirty word, where misogyny and homophobia restrict women in claiming this movement for themselves."

"Feminism is a global political movement to challenge and change women’s subordination to men."

"Two women every week in our country are murdered by a violent male partner, who on average will serve around four years in prison. One in four women are victim to rape in their lifetime, while only one out of every twenty reported rapes result in a conviction. Because we are feminists we do not believe that nineteen out of every twenty women who report rape are liars."