Feminism reaches more students

by Charlotte S, Clemmie P and Mia C

Our school Feminist Society, FemBookSoc, ended this term by delivering two assemblies for Diversity Week – one for Year 7 and one for Year 12. For the Year 7 assembly, Mia C and Charlotte S spoke to the girls about the roots of intersectionality in feminism and how it operates in our daily lives. For the Year 12 assembly, Clemmie P and Mia C explored eco-feminism.

What struck us the most was the fact that we finished this term with one assembly for the youngest girls in school and one for the oldest. Just before Easter, we delivered an International Women’s Day Assembly in the Junior School, for girls from Year 2 to Year 6. Being able to speak to all these students has been incredibly rewarding, and we endeavour to continue in this vein once we are back at school in September.

However, there will be one crucial change to FemBookSoc in September: we have to say goodbye to Ms Jeffrey. She has been an instrumental part of the society during her time at Putney, and we are incredibly sad to see her go. Thank you so much to Ms Jeffrey for your insights (and all the lively debates!) – you have played a monumental role in shaping FemBookSoc into what it is today, inspiring us and countless others, and we cannot say thank you enough.

From everyone at FemBookSoc, we hope that all the members of the Putney High community have a lovely summer, and we can’t wait to see everyone in September. For those of you that are keen to join in with our diverse feminist discussions, please keep an eye out for an email at the start of the year or check the co-curricular timetable when it is released in the Autumn Term.

Until then, here are some summer reading suggestions, which we hope will inspire you to continue exploring feminist ideas during the summer holidays:

We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf

Women & Power: A Manifesto – Mary Beard

The Equality Illusion – Kat Banyard

Equal Power – Jo Swinson

How Many More Women? – Jennifer Robinson and Keina Yoshida

The Patriarchs – Angela Saini

The Authority Gap – Mary Ann Sieghart