Saturday 15 October 2011

Fawcett Society and March in Defence of Women’s Rights: 19th November 2011, London

On Saturday 19th November 2011, a group of students from Exeter University will be heading to London to join in the march in defence of women’s rights with the Fawcett Society.

The Fawcett Society is the UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men.  Check out their website: http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/. It has regional organisations too so for those in Exeter you can get involved with Fawcett Devon.  They hold monthly meetings at 6.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month.  If you are interested in working with Fawcett Devon, contact: coordinator@fawcettdevon.org and have a look at their website: http://www.fawcettdevon.org.uk/ or become a friend of Fawcett Devon on Facebook.

The Fawcett Society have organised a “Don’t turn back time tea party” on November 19th in the form of a march through London but with a 1950s dress up theme to send the message that women don’t want to be catapulted back to the levels of inequality of yesteryear.  The full details can be found on their website here: http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1247.
The timetable for the march is as follows:

12:00 - march congregates at Temple tube, Victoria Embankment.
12:30 - march sets off down Embankment, across Horse Guards Avenue, down Whitehall past Downing Street.
13:30 - march finishes with a rally on King Charles Street.

You can either make your own way down or if you would like to be involved with other Exeter students you can come along with the Gender Equality Society who will arrange transport (a day return to London) for a £30 cheque made payable to E.U.S.G. (£25 for paid members).  If you wish to do so, please contact the society’s president, Lindsay Lyon, at: genderequalitysociety@gmail.com.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Gender Equality Society: Term 1 Agenda (Oct-Dec 2011)

The Gender Equality Society at Exeter University is in full swing ready for the first term this year.  They meet weekly, alternating each week between a discussion and a social event (including guest speakers, nights out, film screenings etc.).

The fortnightly discussions are open to all members to join in.  They take place at 7.30pm-9.00pm on Wednesday evening in Devonshire House (for specific venues see listings).  This year, the structure is a bit different.  A list of topics for term 1 have been decided.  Each fortnight a member of the committe will present a topic for about 10 minutes at the start to the others and will have emailed round some information (e.g. a suggested academic reading, a report, a newspaper article) so members can learn and think about a topic in advance.  Then there will be a chance to ask the presenter some questions followed by an open discussion.  The list of topics and their venues for term 1 are as follows:

Term 1 Discussions (Wednesday fortnightly, 7.30pm-9.00pm, Devonshire House)
  • Wednesday 19th October: Gendercide (China’s One-Child Policy and The Murder of Young Girls) Long Lounge
  • Wednesday 2nd November: Sexualisation of UK Culture (Has Sexual Liberation Turned into Exploitation?) JCR
  • Wednesday 16th November: What is Kyriachy? (The Intersection of Multiple Parallel Oppressions) JCR
  • Wednesday 30th November: A Green Movement (The effect of Climate Change on Women) JCR
  • Wednesday 14th December – LGBTQ+* and Feminism (How and Where do LGBTQ+ People Fit in?) JCR
*LGBTQ+ is the abbreviated term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and any other gender/sexuality that does not feel that a heterosexual/male/female term applies to them.


Term 2 Discussions (Wednesday fortnightly, 7.30pm-9.00pm, Devonshire House)

The list of topics for term 2 has not yet been decided.  The society have left it open to its members to suggest topics they would like to discuss and for people to put themselves forward to present.


Term 1 Socials (Wednesday evening, fortnightly)

The fortnightly socials start this Wednesday (12th October 2011) and are as follows:

  • Wednesday 12th October 2011: Meet at the Ram @ 8.30pm then onto the Firehouse for 9.30pm for pizza and drinks.


If you would like to propose a topic, join the Gender Equality Society or have any general questions about the events, please email the society's president, Lindsay Lyon, at:

genderequalitysociety@gmail.com

Friday 7 October 2011

Feminist Reading Group at Exeter University

Charlotte (Charlie) Bishop, a PhD student at Exeter University, is proposing setting up a feminist reading group within the College of Social Sciences and International Studies (SSIS) at Exeter University for students and academics.   The focus would be on academic ideas and theories.  Here is a message from Charlie herself:

“Hello everyone,

I am a PhD student just about to enter my second year and hoping to start a Feminist Reading Group within SSIS for postgraduates, undergraduates and academics from all the SSIS disciplines. The idea is to have a forum for people (men welcome too!) to come and discuss their ideas in relation to specific readings set each week/fortnight or a paper given by a member of the group if anyone is interested in doing this. The exact form it will take depends upon how much interest there is and from whom, which readings and theorists people would like to discuss, how often they would like to meet and for how long and so on.

If you are interested please email me and let me know when are good times for you to meet and what your interests are and I will set up a time for us to get together to discuss how to take the reading group forward. Or email me if you have any questions before deciding whether you would like to be involved!”

Please contact Charlie by emailing:
cpb206@exeter.ac.uk

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Activities Fair Success!

The Activities Fair on Sunday 2nd October at Exeter University was a great success with a record number sign-ups!  Societies, organisations, retailers, charities spent the whole day handing out leaflets, encouraging students to sign up to events and societies, talking to students, giving out freebies, and generally putting on a great show for Exeter with some fantastic costumes, decorations and stunts!

The Gender Equality Society was out in full swing showcasing what the society has to offer, giving students a chance to meet committee members and encouraging lots of students to join.  As the Gender Equality Representative I had the chance to talk to students about the purpose of the role and how it helps students as well getting students to fill in questionnaires and quizes and talking about their own concerns and experiences regarding gender at Exeter.  Information gathered will now be used to help give some ideas as to the directions that campaigns should take this year.

Thank you to everyone who joined in.  If you missed out on your chance to sign up or couldn't face the queues for the tills, you can still join online at www.exeterguild.org/societies.