Are you a feminist?

“Yes. I believe in equality between women and men. Don’t you?”

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Summer Party on Wednesday. There was an absolutely amazing turn out of interesting, intelligent and passionate progressive women to hear our inspiring speakers and have a good time.

Kat Banyard, author of the Equality Illusion and Director of UK Feminista, set out in clear terms why feminism should matter to us today – the abysmally low rape conviction rate, the pervasiveness of porn in society, the very sad and very common incidents of domestic violence everyday (which many fear will rise during the World Cup) – to name but a few. She concluded with a call to action: “Acting together to make women’s lives better is what feminism is about.”

Kristin Aune and Catherine Redfern, authors of Reclaiming the F Word, set out to bust some myths about who feminists are, and quoted from their fascinating research about why it is that many women don’t identify themselves as feminists (you can read more in their book). Particularly inspiring were the stories of ordinary women doing simple inspiring feminist things, there was much approval for the shout out to @feministhulk.

Amy Jenkins, This Life writer and Independent columnist, spoke of how feminism has been an influence in her life – through her mother’s activism, to her run ins with TV producers, to Anna from This Life, and now in her columns for the Independent where she regularly writes on women’s issues.

There was a great discussion from the audience: the problems of getting strong female drama commissioned for TV and the lack of women in prominent roles on our screens; are we missing the point in using the word feminist? If we all agree on the issues does it matter whether we identify with the word? And just what is the answer to ‘So you’re a feminist are you?’ My favourite, ‘No, I’m a raging feminist’. Your answers in the comments please.

It was a fabulous evening of feminist chat and inspiring people. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Stay tuned for details of our next event – women and leadership, where are the women?