Bring the herstory of riot grrrl back into the present

What has happened to the legacy of riot grrrl? asks Heather McIntosh

Published: 3 February 2010 | Written by Heather McIntosh

In our satin tights, fighting for our rights! But are women really natural campaigners?

Stereotypes about women drawn to campaigning because they are natural nurturers do more harm than good, argues Mhairi Guild

Published: 14 January 2010 | Written by Mhairi Guild

On sisterhood

Katie Sutton was called sexist names at Reclaim the Night, amid continued disagreements between feminists over the issue of prostitution/sex work. Where now for sisterhood at these public events? Includes a response by Finn Mackay

Published: 9 December 2009 | Written by Various Authors

A gude cause maks a strong arm

Wisrutta Atthakor reports back from the Gude Cause march through Edinburgh, 100 years to the day since Scottish suffragettes took to the city's streets

Published: 18 November 2009 | Written by Wisrutta Atthakor

Feminism in London 2009

Charlotte Cooper reports back from the capital's second Feminism in London conference

Published: 13 October 2009 | Written by Charlotte Cooper

How to organise a demonstration

In this case study, Carrie Supple explains how she and Louise Morris organised a protest to support Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein - and how you can use the same techniques to organise a demo for your campaign too

Published: 15 September 2009 | Written by Carrie Supple

Turn your back on Page 3

Francine Hoenderkamp explains her campaign to ban Page 3

Published: 13 August 2009 | Written by Francine Hoenderkamp

Stink bombing the beauty pagaent

Protesters from Smash Miss Contest sneaked into the Miss London University beauty contest, releasing stinkbombs and distributing letters to the audience. Sarah Levack reports

Published: 27 April 2009 | Written by Sarah Levack

Piercing the whitening silence

Terese Jonsson calls for all white feminists (herself included) to step up to the plate on racism and white privilege

Published: 16 March 2009 | Written by Terese Jonsson

Grassroots feminism 2.0?

Want to make connections with grassroots feminist activists across borders and languages? Melanie Maddison talks to Red Chidgey about an online project that aims to help us do just that

Published: 3 March 2009 | Written by Melanie Maddison

We're all in this together

Irish and British women must unite in the battle for reproductive rights, argue Ariel Silvera and Sinead Ahern, as they sketch out the history of abortion in Ireland and the UK

Published: 26 October 2008 | Written by Various Authors

Whose feminism is it?

Is feminism reaching women of colour? How about women who didn't go to university, teenage mums, or women who do not have access to the internet? Annika Spalding calls for change

Published: 22 September 2008 | Written by Annika Spalding

Across the porn divide

It's time to end the battle of words, argues Debi Crow

Published: 10 September 2008 | Written by Debi Crow

Million Women Rise - Reflections

Around 5,000 women gathered from across the UK and marched through central London. Although they received no mainstream media attention, the march and rally have since become the subject of much discussion. Louise Livesey talks to some of the people involved...

Published: 23 August 2008 | Written by Louise Livesey

The future of activism

Protests seem to be ignored, so what's a disgruntled feminist to do? Deborah McAlister considers some of the options

Published: 18 July 2008 | Written by Deborah McAlister

Come on Boris, what you got?

Sandrine Levêque from Object reports on the next stage in the campaign to change the licensing laws for lap-dancing clubs

Published: 26 June 2008 | Written by Sandrine Levêque

Stripping the illusion...

Lap-dancing clubs are licensed in the same way as coffee shops. Anji Capes reports on the launch of a campaign to change all that

Published: 3 May 2008 | Written by Anji Capes

Labours left unfinished: third wave feminism

The third wave and riot grrrl may be inspiring, but risk ignoring feminist history and swapping radical action for gigs and zines. In a fiery essay, Red Chidgey poses some difficult questions

Published: 10 March 2008 | Written by Red Chidgey

Why men should care about gender stereotypes

Alex Gibson considers the harm done by stereotypes of men as beer-swilling, emotionally-stunted brutes

Published: 2 February 2008 | Written by Alex Gibson

Breaking out of the mould

Claire Daly interviews the first editor of pioneering feminist magazine Spare Rib

Published: 31 January 2008 | Written by Claire Daly

Miss LSE or Miss-ogyny?

Antonia Strachey explains why she took part in a protest against a beauty contest for students at the London School of Economics

Published: 2 January 2008 | Written by Antonia Strachey

'Who... me? I'm just a housewife'

Feminism is not just for women with high-flying careers, and feminists must do more to engage women who feel alienated from the movement, argues Samantha Jay

Published: 30 September 2007 | Written by Samantha Jay

Edinburgh gets ready to Reclaim the Night

A march through the streets can be a powerful thing for women who are often isolated from other feminists, argues Rebecca Heller, one of the organisers of Edinburgh's Reclaim the Night March planned for 11 October

Published: 29 September 2007 | Written by Rebecca Heller

Rape - is it our fault?

Anti-rape campaigns spend too much time trying to scare the wits out of women, while perpetrators are all but ignored, argues Dwysan Edwards

Published: 2 May 2007 | Written by Dwysan Edwards

Zines: for when mainstream media lets us down

Feminist blogs are blooming, but many women seeking a creative outlet still turn to hand-made zines. This May, the Women's Library in London will play host to Zine Fest!, showcasing women's zines past and present, as well as providing scissor-and-paper classes for aspiring zinesters. Red Chidgey, who is organising this first-of-a-kind event, explains to Cazz Blase why zines still flourish and picks some of her favourites

Published: 29 March 2007 | Written by Cazz Blase

A worthwhile women's day

Fed up with most of the events put on for International Women's Day, Angela Brant found herself at an illuminating talk on women living under religious and oppressive laws

Published: 29 March 2007 | Written by Angela Brant

Suffering in Silence

One woman's story of street harassment turned George Mason from anti-feminist to women's rights advocate. Now, he urges more women to speak out about their experiences

Published: 1 March 2007 | Written by George Mason

Reasons to be Cheerful

It's usually considered that when feminism engages with state institutions, it loses its radical edge and became compromised and weakened. But is that really the case? Jonathan Dean argues that mainstream women's organisations are actually a lot more radical than they are given credit for, and that we can be optimistic about the future of British feminism.

Published: 1 April 2006 | Written by Jonathan Dean

Women Unite, Reclaim the night!

Rachel Bell reports on November's hugely successful Reclaim the Night March in London, and some of the marchers explain their reasons for taking part.

Published: 28 January 2006 | Written by Rachel Bell

Resolution = Revolution!

Wondering how to get more active? Isolated? Stuck for ideas on how to help feminism progress? Not sure what you can do? Well, The F-Word is here to help. We've invited groups and individuals to suggest a stack-load of practical suggestions for activism to take you through 2005.

Published: 13 January 2005 | Written by Various Authors

Where is the F word not an F word?

Feminism in the US is experiencing a massive revival due to Bush's anti-woman policies. Having recently moved to the States from London, Natasha Forrest muses on the differences between UK and US feminism.

Published: 1 June 2004 | Written by Natasha Forrest

Get Your Frock On: An insight into organising a womens' community event

Red Chidgey speaks to Coral and Marie, part of 'The Cailleach Collective', inspirational organisers of Glasgow's 'Frock On!' events.

Published: 19 September 2003 | Written by Red Chidgey

From Greenham to Menwith: The women's peace campaign at Menwith Hill

The spirit of Greenham Common is alive and kicking, says Finn Mackay, a young feminist who lived at the women's peace camp at Menwith Hill during the 90s. Here she explains its history and provides a call to other interested women to get involved.

Published: 19 September 2003 | Written by Finn Mackay

Diet Grrrl: An Example

A reader of The F-Word has kindly allowed us to reproduce the complaint she wrote 'in a moment of anger against Marie Claire magazine'. Be inspired! Grab that pen or send an email and give them a piece of your mind.

Published: 16 August 2002 | Written by Name Supplied

Feminist Discussion and Action Group

I was really intrigued when I read about the Bradford feminist discussion and action group in Marion's zine 'Who's That Bitch?' earlier this year. Although the group no longer exists, Marion, Julia, Sally and Judith, all members, agreed to share with The F-Word some more information about it.

Published: 16 August 2002 | Written by Catherine Redfern

Grrl Activistas - an introduction

Aoife McBride of the campaigning group 'Grrl Activistas' explains the group's aims and how the group started.

Published: 16 May 2002 | Written by Aoife McBride

Letters

A simple example of what you can do with a pen, some paper, and envelope and a stamp. Catherine Redfern gets scribbling.

Published: 16 August 2001 | Written by Catherine Redfern