One World Week: interview with Forum organisers

Warwick students got insight into the history and prevalence of feminism at ‘The F-Word: Is feminism still relevant?’, as Fourth Wave Feminism makes the news.

Organised by One World Week (OWW) Forum, the talk generated great excitement among both students and lecturers, filling the room to full capacity.

Shaheen Ali, a law professor at Warwick University, led the talk, explaining her views on feminism before introducing the other speakers.

They included Dr. Laurel Forster, a feminist senior lecturer in the Media Studies department at the University of Portsmouth, Colm Dempsey, an Irish ex-police officer and self-proclaimed ‘male feminist’, and Dr Johanna Blakley, American TED speaker and managing director, and director of research at the Norman Lear Center.

The speakers spent approximately 15 minutes each giving their definition of feminism and its relevance in the 21st Century. The talks focused on the history of feminism, the importance of male support for the cause and the impact of social media on feminism.

Prof Ali then opened the floor to questions from the audience who were eager to have their questions answered by the panel.

Following the event, Akwasi Akoto, a first-year Computer Sciences student, said: “It was a good environment where students felt safe to express their views. I was impressed by the wide range of speakers from different backgrounds.”

He said he was particularly “happy to see the presence of a male feminist, as it is important for boys to be confident in supporting the cause”.

One of the expected speakers was absent: Katie Hopkins, business woman, television personality and journalist.

However, given Ms Hopkins’ more controversial stance on feminism, Akoto explained that her views could have ruined the pleasant atmosphere.

Colm Dempsey commended the “forum and Warwick for confronting a brave topic”.

In an exclusive interview with the Boar, the heads of OWW Forum, Solene Van Der Weilen and Abhishek Ananth, discuss the event.

What made you choose this topic?

The idea that feminism is no longer relevant is somewhat surprising and wrong, but it’s such a common kind of sentiment. Even here, when we talk to people giving out flyers, a lot of them were like “no, we’ve reached equality”, and so we think the debate needed to happen.

What made you choose the balance of speakers that you’ve chosen? Did you have a sort of balance of opinions in mind?

We wanted speakers to reflect the different perspectives that there are, so we wanted people who varied in their opinions to show just what was out there, that’s why we chose a male feminist. That was one of the most important things for me, because I felt like women saying feminism is important, but having a man saying it is a completely different angle, so that was particularly key for me, and with the others, we wanted someone who has more of an academic background as well because we wanted someone to look at how feminism has changed over time. And then we wanted someone who was also a bit different and someone people would probably disagree with to some extent.

Johanna Blakley is a very big figure in the field, naturally. Was it easy for you to access her, or did you have a lot of trouble getting her to come down?

She was actually one of the first people we had confirmed because it’s something she’s so into and wants to get out there. She was great from the start, she really wanted to come, so it was really nice.

Do you think students at the university identify with the topic a lot?

I think a surprising amount of them do. We knew there was the Warwick Anti-Sexism Society and that they would be interested, but the amount of completely separate students who have come up to us and asked what it is on, what time, really shows that people who don’t decide to necessarily be active on that debate on a daily basis still want to hear it.

How has OWW Forum been on the whole?

It’s good to see students that are politically motivated and interested and not just oriented with the business field. It’s a very refreshing change. The talks have attracted a lot of different people as well, there’s not been that many people that have been consistent throughout the talks, so it’s been quite good. The Q&A’s have been quite good as well, which has again renewed our faith in people thinking for themselves. They are all subjects that affect us, we can’t pretend that it just affects a small minority somewhere and we can blindly turn the other way…

Johanna Blakley, speaking to the Boar, said: “I was really impressed with the students. Feminism as a subject really gets people’s hackles up, but the conversation was very productive. I think the moderator set the right tone, and the students really made it work, I was really worried.”