By Guest Blogger | 17 October 2008, 14:51

Last weekend was the first Feminism in London conference. Charlotte Cooper reflects on the day in this guest post. You can also see Jess’ photos from the day on Flickr

While the word conference would normally rouse feelings of fear and boredom in me, there’s something about the prefix Feminist that alerts me to the opposite. As a not-too-internet-based feminist, I miss out on a lot of the group discussion that takes place in online forums, and so the occasional trip out to any part of the physical world I inhabit means I get to catch up on big ideas and debates.

The Feminism in London conference, held on Saturday 11th October, was run by the ever-swelling London Feminist Network in the iconic Conway Hall, famous for encouraging free speech and progressive thinking. I couldn’t really think of a better place to push the feminist psyche.

Though I wasn’t flushed with excitement at the prospect of another workshop on “what’s wrong with pornography” or 90 minutes on objectification, there was plenty to be thrilled about. Women and asylum, masculinities in peace and war and media training workshops stood out to me - the latter demonstrating the movement’s reaction to an ever pressing media interest in feminist perspective (perhaps cemented by the presence of the BBC film crew).

Of the two workshops I attended the women and UK asylum workshop was interesting and invigorating, and once the group has established the legal background - the UK screws people seeking refugee status in our country - we were quickly looking for ways to get active and make a difference. People were searching for ways to make real positive changes by buying shares in detention centres to help rock the boat and volunteering as medical, legal and companion aids.

At the very least, the day offered an opportunity for people to socialise and build bridges and strengthen the feminist community in its many guises. But, the best things that occurred was that people left energised and excited, committed to direct action in its many forms, and that’s exactly what we need.