Written by Amber Turner-Brightman
For this interview I met with Josh and Amy, President and Secretary of Feminist Society. We talked about the main aims of the society, inclusivity, and liberation.
What is Feminist Society?
Josh: The Feminist Society is just about campaigning for gender equality, specifically women’s rights. We’re all about breaking down the patriarchy which our society finds itself stuck in, and we’re trying to claw our way out as human beings. I think it’s just about shedding light on those injustices that are relating to gender as a social construction, but also the bodily issues of women’s bodies as well as various other things.
Amy: I would say it’s also about education- educating ourselves, educating others, and trying to show up as a society and as a community in the best way we can.
What sort of activities and events do you have planned?
Amy: We want to do some workshops and invite some guest speakers in from different charities and companies, to see what the outside perspective is. When you’re in a university, it almost seems like a bubble, but I think inviting external speakers in will again, shed light on what feminism is like in the outside world.
Josh: I was going to say, I think compared to other societies like sports which are quite focused on the university and doing well for the university itself- which is great and very important, don’t get me wrong- our society stands for something much wider than just the university. We’re very lucky that we have a lot of connections with local and national organisations, for example sexual health clinics. It’s just about drawing on those external links and shedding light on those.
Why did you choose to get involved in FemSoc?
Amy: This is actually my first time being in the society, because I asked the previous committee to be part of this committee. In a way, for me, this is my first time being involved in something like this. I think I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and which meant something to me personally, really.
Josh: I’m quite similar. I’ve always had an interest in gender studies specifically as an English student, and when this opportunity came up, I messaged the old committee because like Amy, I wasn’t in the society in my first year. I think I was unaware it existed, but I found their Instagram, and I remember they were looking for a President and a Treasurer for quite a while. I thought, could I do it? I asked some of my friends and they told me I’d be good at it. So I messaged them and I managed to get the role.
FemSoc's committee at this year's Freshers' Fayre
Do you feel FemSoc is a necessary space?
Josh: Around fifty percent of our population identify as women, so it’s important that there is a space for them, especially when society still has these archaic ideologies. It’s important that we show there’s a collective and a group of voices and people. I guess it’s like finding your tribe and your people, those who feel the same way as you. We’re a feminist society, but we’re open to all genders, sexual orientations, races, all walks of life. It’s just a place where people can come and be themselves and engage in these positive debates and campaigns. They’re coming to make friends, but they’re leaving with something new- knowing they can stand up to social injustices when they see them, and feeling empowered to take part in those discussions.
Amy: I also think it’s important that we’re safe and very inclusive in our society. Just learning more about feminism, educating ourselves, and making new friends and having fun! That’s the most important thing we should be doing.
How long have you considered yourself a feminist?
Amy: Honestly, probably forever.
Josh: Yeah. I didn’t have a day where I woke up and decided I was a feminist. I like to think when I was younger I was always an open minded person, and called out things I didn’t think were right, so I guess that has led to actually defining it as feminism. So for as long as I can remember, but if I were to actually say a time when I acknowledged it, I think it would be starting GCSEs. For me, literature is a huge part of it because it’s constructed of my interests, gender being a huge one of those. I think starting texts at GCSEs made me realise I actually enjoy championing women’s rights, so that’s when I started to say I was a feminist. Subconsciously though, I’ve been one my whole life.
Amy: I think for me, I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t a feminist. It’s always been something which is engrained in me, for a long time.
What does the word ‘feminist’ mean to you?
Amy: Feminist to me, if I had to sum it up in one word, would be inclusivity. Just being inclusive, being aware, being open minded.
Josh: I would say, in one word for me, it would be liberation. It’s a sense of freedom.
A FemSoc meeting
Do you have any opinions on how people can be better feminists, or how those who don’t currently identify as feminists can become more involved?
Josh: I have a big one: acknowledge that men can be feminists too. The ‘fem’ in feminist makes some people think you can only care about women’s rights if you’re female, but no. When I approached about becoming President I asked, if it was appropriate for someone who identifies as a man to lead the Feminist Society. The response I got back was that a man set up the society in the first place, and that they care about that male voice. I’m not saying that male voice is more important than the female voice, because the female voice itself is the one going through those injustices, but that doesn’t mean we should neglect that fact that males can stand on the side, and support, and join in with campaigns, debates, and supportive networks. There’s such a big stigma out there that because my pronouns are he/him, I can’t be a feminist, and that could not be further from the truth. We work as a whole- it’s not like a man at the top is making all the decisions, and I hope that Amy will agree with me when I say that we are all making the decisions together. Just because I am the President, doesn’t mean I neglect other views. I know that there will be sessions that I will not run because it’s not appropriate. That’s just what I think. There needs to be a breaking down of the stereotype that you can only be a feminist if you’re female. It’s important because that’s what we’re standing up for, but it doesn’t hurt to have that male support too.
Amy: I agree. I think that as long as we’re all focused on the main reason why we’re here- advocating for women’s rights and making these differences in our society. Breaking down those stigmas and those misconceptions is really important to us.
Josh: Also, last year, the committee did a meeting where they looked at toxic masculinity. So even as a Feminist Society, we look at different scopes. So I think that it’s important that, like Amy said, we’ve got our main focus and we know what that is, but that we also recognise there are other social injustices which branch off of that, which we have a responsibility to tackle and to talk about.
Why would you encourage people to join Feminist Society ?
Josh: Because we’re great! We’re nice people from all walks of life, we’ve all been through our stuff, we can all come together and help each other out, support each other, and make friends! It’s great for freshers to meet likeminded people, it’s great for second and third years to come and engage in this positive discourse… I think if you’re a fan of standing against social injustices, that’s great, but if you just want to come and chill out and meet likeminded people, that’s great also. At this society we have a specific goal, but we’re not trying to get a trophy. We can do whatever we want, we’re just here to offer a safe space and offer people two hours to either unwind and switch off, or getting into the nitty gritty and propelling forward the things we want to propel.
Amy: It’s also going to be about having fun and coming together, making friends, doing all that. We’ve got a lot planned this year.
About the Author: Amber Turner-Brightman (they/them)
Hi, I'm Amber, EIC! I'm an MA Journalism student with an undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations. I'm particularly interested in current affairs and societal trends.
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