Out of the Doll’s House?
Jane Osmond
WVoN co-editor
When I began writing for Women’s Views on News nearly two years ago, I realised that I needed to plug myself into cyberspace to source relevant stories about women.
What I found was an active ‘feminist blogosphere’ featuring thousands of women all over the world writing about their experiences of being a woman within male-dominated societies.
I was astounded.
I was astounded not just at the sheer quantity of the stories, but also the quality, which range from the hilarious to the soul-searing: story after story from women attempting to challenge their second-class status within the world.
However, I was more astounded that this vibrant, active blogosphere is almost invisible in the mainstream media.
If you are the kind of person who does not read outside this mainstream you could be forgiven for thinking that feminists are angry-bra-burning-hairy-armpit-harridans who have nothing better to do than shout about a fight that was won a long time ago.
I like to think that this is beginning to change, not least because we now have Women’s Views on News, which – despite having no funding and relying on volunteer writers – is going from strength to strength (shout out to Alison, our founder).
Having had my eyes opened, I then began to notice that the women within this blogosphere are using cyberspace to create networks – forming protest groups, feminist groups, any kind of group – that give them a critical mass of opinion which has, finally, begun to be recognised by the (overwhelmingly male) gatekeepers of the news, boardrooms and business.
Recently in the UK, we have seen the BBC do an about-turn on the lack of representation of women in news cycles, we have the Leveson enquiry which has focused some of its efforts (I know, I know not enough) on the representation of women in the media, the lack of women in boardrooms, and the mistake Hooters made by trying to force its self-styled ‘breastaurants’ on the city of Bristol (thank you Bristol Feminist Network).
On a more local level, online platforms such as Facebook (oh Facebook – why does your platform offer so many opportunities for really constructive networking for women, but at the same time give a platform to some very disturbing people who use rape jokes and death threats to try and silence those women – but that is another story) has facilitated the rise of feminist groups throughout the country.
One of these feminist groups is based in Coventry and, for me, epitomises the very welcome rise of grass roots feminism.
The Coventry Feminist Culture Club was set up in January of this year, and the founder, Naomi commented:
I wanted to do something that had a bit more of a broader scope, a bit more of a social based group…sometimes it can feel a bit lonely as a feminist. You might come out and say you are a feminist in a group of people and often you feel very isolated. I started to realise that there are other people out there that feel and think the same way and I thought it would a good way to encourage others and find support and friendship.
Asked how long she has self-identified as a feminist, Naomi said it was a gradual process in that although she was always offended by sexist jokes, it is only as she has matured that she could put the way she sees the world into context:
I think I have always been feminist minded but I wouldn’t have always called it that – over the past couple of years my own thoughts have taken form a bit more solidly… I have really understood what [feminism] means to me.
For Naomi then, being a feminist is caring about equality and using her passion to address the injustices that women suffer just because they are women and she wants ‘to be part of changing that’.
To date the group boasts over 30 members, some of whom shared their vision of what feminism is about:
Challenging sexist attitudes and inequalities, fighting to make the world a better, safer, fairer place for all women (Sarah G)
A movement that aims for global gender equality – economically, politically and culturally creating a world where women and girls can live free from violence, abuse and oppression (Sam R)
Feminism is a movement that campaigns for freedoms, freedoms for women to be women without fear or risk of prejudice, violence or discrimination because of the fact they are women (Sarah L)
Several social events are planned, including a visit to the University of Warwick Arts Centre to see the Vagina Monologues (all proceeds to V-Day and CRASAC) and a visit to the Belgrade Theatre to see Nora, Ingmar Bergman’s adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
However, although 30 is a good number of women to attract to the group in such a short space of time, when put into the context of the number of women over 18 in Coventry – 48.8 per cent of a population of over 220,000 according to the 1991 census – it is very small indeed.
Was this, I asked Naomi, because women – particularly of her generation (born in the early 80s) – do not tend to identify themselves as feminists?
Yes, it makes me quite sad and quite angry because on the whole most women I know are feminists in one way or another they just don’t like the word, but for me it is a word that I am proud of and happy to say. I think when you say that you are a feminist, people give you a funny look and roll their eyes – even the women who feel exactly the same way about things you get passionate about – they just don’t like the word… they don’t want to put their hands up and say they are feminist.
Naomi thinks that the word ‘feminist’ is problematic for many women, not only because of the aforementioned ‘bra burning’ image, but also because a lot of women think that the fight is over:
One of the biggest obstacles is people’s apathy and people thinking that we have already got equality and it drives me barmy when I see articles in the newspaper and hear people saying it – that we don’t need feminism anymore because we have got it and done it.
However, as Naomi points out, this is quite obviously not the case when considering the lack of positive, powerful female role models for women growing up:
All of the power structures and everything that controls our planet and our world is still so heavily led by white middle class men and that is an obstacle. I think the problem is that younger women coming up who could be the leaders of tomorrow still have so few role models to aspire to: instead of seeing strong women role models who tell them they can achieve anything they want they are just surrounded by media throwing the old old idea that women are there to be looked at. This is an idea which is out of date and I think that needs to break before a lot of women can realise what they actually can achieve.
Although the Coventry Culture Club is not a protest group, it does offer a space for like-minded women to meet and talk about their feelings about being women. As one member commented:
Other feminists provide me with hope, inspiration, courage and a sense of belonging.
For me, local grass roots groups such are these are the beginning of something – and that something is the gathering together of women who are tired of not having their opinions and voices heard, are tired of feeling like outsiders in their own communities, are tired of hearing that the only roles that women get to play rely on how ‘hot’ they are, when this very ‘hotness’ marks them out as targets to be used and abused.
Over 130 years after Ibsen, we are – it seems – sadly still in the Doll’s House.
However, when viewed as a chain of like-minded women – from local Coventry Feminist Culture Club to UK Feminista Midlands, to UK Feminista to Gender Across Borders – maybe, just maybe, not for much longer.
Thanks Jane! Coincidentally (or did you know?) – my blog is called ‘The Broken Dolls House’!
As Cath Elliot noted a long time ago on her blog, when ‘lists’ of blogs are made such as ‘Best Political Blogs’, feminist websites are never included – because the men who compile these lists don’t consider feminism to be a political movement, which it certainly is and many feminist blogs are ALL about politics. But, no, these are just ‘women’s issues’, like, oh, tampon tax and suchlike.
This is something that could be said about the explosion of social media: feminism is a much more visible presence there than in the mainstream media, I think.