We are very excited to be hosting a workshop with the Irish Feminist Network at the upcoming Sibeal 4th Annual Postgraduate Conference which is taking place on Saturday 26th November in the University of Limerick.
Check out the invitation here: Sibeal Conference Invitation
Please share this post with friends and colleagues who would be interested in attending!
Press Release
For Immediate Release
5th September 2011
The Future of Feminism: Cork Feminista Celebrates First Anniversary
Cork Feminista is delighted to be marking their first anniversary with a celebration including food, drink, music, and a discussion on the future of feminism. The celebration will take place on Thursday 8th September 2011, from 7 – 10pm, at 8 North Mall, Cork. People are encouraged to bring their own drinks to enjoy, or share, if they wish!
Clara Fischer of the Irish Feminist Network and Pádraig de Rís, Gender Equality Officer with the Union of Students in Ireland will give their thoughts on the future of feminism, before we open the floor to a general discussion. Following the discussion, we will celebrate our first birthday with a cake specially designed by Moira Kavanagh and with music by DJ Terasa Jackson.
The past year has seen Cork Feminista gain national media attention for commentary on women’s issues in addition to hosting 10 public meetings on topics ranging from gender quotas to civil marriage to book clubs. In July 2011, Cork Feminista organized a “Join the Dots” demonstration in Cork City to highlight issues around sexual violence.
Linda Kelly, Organiser at Cork Feminista says:
“Some people like to say that feminism is dead, but over the past year we have met women and men from all over Cork who are engaged and interested with the topic of feminism, and we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received. It just goes to show that feminism is alive and well.”
To find out more information, or to sign up for our weekly newsletter:
Email: corkfeminista@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CorkFeminista
Twitter: twitter.com/corkfeminista
Blog: corkfeminista.wordpress.com
-Ends-
For further information contact:
Linda Kelly: corkfeminista@gmail.com
Note to the Editor:
Cork Feminista was founded by Linda Kelly, and Dr. Jennifer DeWan, in August 2010 to provide a discussion and activist space for feminism in Cork. It is a collective of women and men who meet once a month to discuss different issues related to women’s equality and feminism. The meetings allow participants to explore their thoughts on equality and feminism and also network with other campaigners nationally and internationally.
Y-Lead?: Young Female Leaders in Irish Society is a film series organised by the Irish Feminist Network with support from the National Women’s Council of Ireland and made possible by the Women’s Fund at the Community Foundation of Ireland.Videos were filmed and edited by Sam Whelan-Curtin and directed by Madeline Hawke.
Over the next few weeks we will be posting all videos (there are 6) here on the blog to highlight the wonderful, inspiring work being done by young women across the country! One video even features two CF supporters (Laura Harmon & Audrey Ellard Walsh)! I am so proud to be able to call all of these young women my peers and look forward to seeing what we all achieve over the coming years.
First up: Áine Ní Choisdealbha has been skating with the Dublin Roller Girls, Ireland’s first roller derby league, since March 2010 and is a member of their travel team as well as having duties on the league’s PR and marketing committee. Neither athletic nor much of a sports fan before roller derby, Peppy’s involvement with her league and passion for derby illustrate the power of sport in helping young women engage with their communities and with each other, preparing them for leadership roles both on and off the track.
For more information on Dublin Roller Girls and to
get involved check out:
http://dublinrollergirls.wordpress.com
Second Up: Gillian McInerney heard about BeLonG To at age 19 and came out as gay soon after joining. Wanting to give back to the group which gave her the confidence to embrace her sexuality, she became a youth leader and got involved in the The Ladybirds a BeLonG To group for young Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender women in Dublin. She also
participated in a postcard campaign promoting LBT womens mental and sexual health. She is currently training to be a youth worker.
For more information on BeLonG To and to get involved check out:
www.belongto.org
Next up: Orla Tinsley is a 24 year old campaigner and journalist from Newbridge, Co.Kildare. She started campaigning for the rights of people with Cystic Fibrosis, an illness which she also has, in 2005. She has written numerous pieces on the topics of facilities and transplants in The Irish Times and her Memoir : Salty Baby is out September 2011.
For more information on Cystic Fibrosis in Ireland and to get involved check out:
www.cfireland.ie
To read some of Orla’s articles check out: www.irishtimes.com and search ‘Orla Tinsley’.
Number Four on the list: Anna Cosgrave is a 21 year old student and aspiring
entrepreneur who is currently attending Trinity College Dublin. She has been involved in a number of college initiatives including being the Speakers Convenor for the Trinity Entreprenerual society, Events Coordinator for the Trinity Arts Festival as well as being on the CSC Executive board. In addition to her college pursuits Anna has been active in other community events including interning with the Dublin Web Summit and organising a mini-monthly festival at the Bernard Shaw in Dublin.
For more information on social entrepreneurship and to get involved check out:
www.socialentrepreneurs.ie
Fifth video: Vilma Barbosa is the current Miss Africa Ireland. Born in
Portugal, Vilma moved to Ireland when she was 14. For as long as she can remember, Vilma has always had an interest in being a model, musician and actress. In following her dream of becoming a model, Vilma entered the Miss Africa Ireland contest in 2010 wanting to challenge traditional perceptions of beauty. In winning the contest Vilma has been able to perform as an ambassador and role model for young African and migrant women in Ireland.
For more information on issues relating to African and Migrant women in Ireland and to get involved check out: www.akidwa.ie
Last but not least: Laura Harmon gained her interest in activism after attending the LGBT Noise March for Marriage in 2009. Following this, she ran for and was elected as Campaigns Officer and Auditor for UCC LGBT Society. In addition to becoming further involved in the LGBT society, Laura got elected as the first LGBT Rights Officer for UCC Students’ Union. Her interest in activism soon spread to other social justice issues and inspired her to restart UCC Amnesty International Society last January. Laura has been awarded numerous awards for her work in student activism.
For more information on student campaigns in your college and to get involved check out: www.usi.ie
The famous line from Romeo and Juliet springs to mind now when I talk to my friends about feminism and what the word means. Some reject the word altogether saying it represents a movement that is not egalitarian and which seeks to promote women above and beyond men, whereas others identify with its broad aims and objectives but feel that the word is now too associated with negative images to be in any way productive for campaigning. Yet we see an increasing number of groups, for example Feminist Open Forum and the Irish Feminist Network who are proudly reclaiming the word and challenging the stereotypes. So who in all of this conjecture about what we should call ourselves when we mobilise for equality is right? Can we only achieve equality if we are feminists? Can we be for equality if we are not feminists? If we were to create a new word/slogan now what would it look like? What other word could we possibly use?Is it possible to reclaim words which are denigrated by mass media constantly?
Personally, I’ve been on a bit of a journey over the past three years from a place where I was a staunch anti-feminist to a place now where I’m setting up a feminist group…. Was there a light bulb moment? Yes, most definitely but that was only the beginning. Even as a confident feminist campaigner now I still have moments in the company of new people where I hesitate before naming myself as a feminist. The hesitation is usually accompanying by an intake of sharp breath and a squaring of the shoulders in order to prepare myself for what is coming next… one of the most recent comments was ‘feminists aren’t real people’. But yet I always name it, because it is important to break the stereotypes. As long as such negativity and ridicule is associated with feminism (the radical notion that women are people), a movement that organised for and won for women throughout the past few decades – how can women achieve equality?
And who wins if we change the name of our movement? How fast will it take for whatever new name we have to become the same object of derision that feminism currently takes? Because at the core of this issue is not the word feminism… is it what feminism represents – women agitating for change and for a better existence and not just agitating but winning. And this for me is the key. Feminism mobilised a generation of women to ask for more, to ask for a better life, to ask for equality and THEY WON! That is the power of a collective movement that we are now lacking because the divide and conquer reign of anti feminism has been hard at work. It is no surprise when you look at the history books that the ridiculing of feminism in the malestream media began after some of the biggest victories for women in the 1970′s to a place where now young women are conditioned to think that if they call themselves a feminist they will never be attractive to men and end up living on some sheep farm with hairy legs and stray cats.
We can win again… but what do we call ourselves to create that same collective movement that won before?
I call myself a feminist, what about you?
