Student, Emily discusses the lecture given by History and Politics teacher, Dr Smith.
"Dr Smith delivered a lecture to the L6, entitled ‘Fourth Wave Feminism: How did we get here and what more can we do?’. As a part of our ongoing celebration of international women’s day, this was an excellent topic, since it is one that is extremely relevant to us, and something that many people in the room are passionate about.
Dr Smith started by telling us all about the struggles she faced as a proud feminist while she was our age and at university. She spoke about some of the stereotypes which were assumed to be true about her whenever she mentioned that she was a feminist, and how these stereotypes are not true, such as the misconception that all feminists hate men, or think women should be superior to men when this, in fact, contrasts the very definition of feminism. Dr Smith continued to speak about the waves of feminism, a way of explaining how feminism has evolved, which was brought forward in the 1960s. In the third wave of feminism, comes the rise of intersectionality. This explores how all women should not be categorised to have the same experiences – it should be acknowledged that women of colour have their own unique experiences (which are often not heard, and overlooked), as do women of different nationalities, sexualities and disabilities. Dr Smith Spoke about Bell Hooks, who’s text ‘Ain’t I a woman?’ Was highly influential and played a role in the intersectionality movement.
Dr Smith went on to talk about feminism in today’s society, described as a “place of multiple feminisms”. As fourth wave feminism arises, a focus is on complete inclusivity, and applying this to all aspects of life, for example, political, economic and cultural aspects, to name a few that Dr Smith spoke about. Dr Smith acknowledged that it can seem like there is little we can do to contribute to fourth wave feminism, but gave us ideas about what we can do. For example, speaking up and spreading awareness, knowing our rights and using them, and supporting each other.
The L6 all thoroughly enjoyed Dr Smith’s thought-provoking lecture and were highly impressed by the confidence and insightfulness with which she answered our many questions. It was an amazing opportunity for us, as a community of young women, to engage in discussion about such an important topic."