1. 21 st century feminism: theoretical framework and/or social movement Gaby Weiner October 2014 Helsinki University

2. 2 1st wave: mid 1800s to early 1900s 2nd wave: 1960s-1980s 3rd wave: 1990s 4th wave: 2000s plus Always delicate balance between theorisation and activism Timeline of feminism (approx. in UK)

3. 3 To what extent 21 st century Academia is compatible with political activism Have feminist academics lost sight of their aspiration to challenge and reduce inequalities between men and women within and outside education – or has neoliberalism done that for them? Questions

4. 4 Again and again over the last few years, I turned to modern feminism to answer questions....but found that what had once been the one most exciting, incendiary and effective revolution of all time had somehow shrunk down into a couple of increasingly small arguments, carried out among a couple of dozen feminist academics, in books that only feminist academics would read (Moran, 2011, 12) Has academic feminism failed?

5. 5 How to be a woman (2011) Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution (2014)

6. 6 Feminism is not a set of rules. It is not about taking rights away from men, as if there were a finite amount of liberty to be had if we have the guts to grasp it for everyone. Feminism is a social revolution, and a sexual revolution, and feminism is in no way content with a missionary position. It is about work, and about love, and about how one depends very much on the other. Feminism is about asking question, and carrying on answering them even when the questions get uncomfortable (Penny, 2014, 16). New feminism

7. 7 Success of feminist academics (in education, social sciences, humanities) Emergence of academic field of gender (and education) Gap between feminist academics and practitioners Corporatisation of higher education Continued inequalities & disparities between girls & boys, men & women, Need for politics of gender and feminist action Argument

8. 8 Gender and Education Journal Rethinking Contemporary Feminist Politics (2010)

9. Fawcett Society 9

10. Women’s Aid 10

11. F-word website 11

12. Amnesty International 12

13. Feminist actions 13

14. Feminism actions 14

15. LWiE Labour Women in Education Feminist Political Organisations

16. Gender and Education Association 16

17. Questions (2) Is there such a thing as feminist praxis or pedagogy? What role has (feminist) research in feminist action? Which (feminist) theories best aid transformations of practice and action? To what extent can (feminist) leadership models be effective and/or transformative? How can networking and social media be best utilised in the interests of feminist activism?

18. Where does academic feminism fit into activism? Feminist theorists e.g. Chris Weedon, Judith Butler, Karen Barad, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Donna Haraway, Julia Kristeva

19. Contact details Gaby Weiner email gaby.weiner@btinternet.com gaby.weiner@btinternet.com website www.gabyweiner.co.uk