‘Today it is widely believed that women and men have achieved equality. This quite simply is an illusion’.
So begins The Equality Illusion: the Truth about Women and Men Today written by author, feminist activist and Sheffield University graduate Kat Banyard.
“We are continually told we live in a post-feminist age,” Banyard said in an interview, “yet if you scratch the surface of society none of the realities you come up with square with that view.”
This is the message of what has become known the third feminist wave – the first wave coming with the Suffragettes, the second during the flower power days of the 1960s. This third wave is now originating from students, and leading the way are women from Sheffield.
Meeting in a small pub down Trippet Lane are the Sheffield Fems, a feminist group set up by university students back in 2005. Despite its short life, the group has already achieved a great deal.
In 2005, campaigning by the Sheffield Fems resulted in both John Lewis and Claire’s Accessories discontinuing Playboy merchandise on their shelves; in 2008, the group managed to halt plans to bring a Hooter’s restaurant to Leopold Square.
“Our members are about 50/50 students to non-students now, but that means there’s a good mix”, notes group member Anna Robottom. At the moment, she says, there are around 150 people on the group’s mailing list – “the only problem is getting them to the meetings!”
On their agenda are issues such as the pay gap (women are still paid 23 per cent less than men), abortion rights, strip clubs, and lad’s mags.
On the first Saturday of every month, the group enacts its ‘Women in Black’ campaign in the city centre. The event raises awareness of female oppression focusing on asylum seekers, particularly those escaping war zones. Domestic violence is also highlighted; 1 in 4 women will face violence in their homes during their lifetime.
The rising prevalence and social acceptance of lads mags is a major concern for the new feminist era. Action taken by feminists ranges from organised campaigns and leaflets to individual protests.
Post-it notes with messages such as ‘how would you feel if this was your sister?’ are stuck onto the magazines and ‘Turn it Over’ campaigns encourage feminist supporters to turn such publications over.
Media pressure is a constant target for feminists. Kat Banyard talks of ‘the tyranny of beauty‘ and the airbrushed models who feature on every magazine cover.
To counteract such magazines’ growing popularity, the Sheffield Fems have started handing out leaflets stating ‘all of those pictures are edited. It can’t be right to want women to be something that’s impossible’ and ‘once you see a picture of a women like that, you see every other woman in the same way: as an object’.
However, the fight against lad’s mags is seen by some as being controversial.
Earlier this year, Women’s Officer Amy Sutherland complained about the distribution of FHM Magazine at the Fresher’s Fair and was accused of ‘over-sensitivity’ and making ‘gross assumptions’ about how students would be influenced by the publication.
The incident divided opinion in the student population, with as many vehemently supporting her position as disputing it.
Many people have commented on feminism’s supposedly ‘overbearing’ reputation.
“It’s a hot topic in a lot of women’s events I have been to,” says Sutherland. “To me, feminism means the belief that men and women should be equal and that we need to do some work to get there. To others though, feminism is misunderstood as being somehow ‘anti-men’.”
Sutherland chairs the Women’s Committee, which works actively in a number of areas, including fighting unequal representation in the workplace and raising awareness about female safety on and off campus.
Some have questioned whether feminism still has a real case to fight for in modern British society. However, research has shown that the movement is as relevant now as ever. It is well reported that girls regularly outperform boys at school during GCSEs and A Levels, and female university entrants are at a record high, making up 55 per cent of all university entrants.
In her book Kat Banyard reminds us of some of the problems women face: for example, that every year 100,000 women are raped; 90 per cent of all those who suffer from eating disorders are female; and laws regarding prostitution are widely believed to be inadequate.
“Women are forced into prostitution by a process of exclusion, disadvantage and often abuse”, says Banyard.
One study across 9 countries has shown that 68 per cent of prostitutes show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, a rate as high as victims of sexual abuse.
Inequality in the workplace for women exists but is gradually improving. Google and Facebook are just a couple of well-known companies who currently employ female executives.
Unfortunately, the University of Sheffield has not contributed to this success as not one of the senior positions is occupied by a woman; “women are vastly under-represented”, laments Banyard.
The roots of these divisions between the sexes are numerous and profound, say feminists. A survey by Natasha Walter, author of The New Feminism, reveals that 60 per cent of Mancunian teenagers would consider glamour modelling as a career. “There’s just a lack of inspiration for young girls” notes Emma Blackmore, teacher and member of Sheffield Fems.
Banyard argues that girls learn to treat themselves as objects from a young age, something which she describes as “inherently dehumanising.”
UK Feminista, a new nationwide organisation founded by Banyard, works to “reclaim feminism for the new generation and support all individuals taking action against sexism”.
A new feminism era is dawning from the controversy and murky stereotypes in society. It now fights for women’s dignity and equality. It is being fought more and more by younger people, and Sheffield is leading the way.