Feminism still has a place in contemporary Britain, argues the writer and activist Natasha Walter in this article from 1998. Women may seem more liberated than ever, but gender inequality continues. Walter’s “new feminism” counters the idea that feminism is “only about the way women dress or talk or make love”; it is a “movement that enables women to attack material inequality and abuse”. Eight women of different ages respond to Wharton’s article. “Feminist” is one of the most unpopular words in the English language, writes “Women’s Journal” editor Marcelle d’Argy Smith; “Why waste energy fighting a battle that is already won?”, asks writer and breadwinner Susan Elkin; “One of my earliest memories is teaching my dad to cook Yorkshire puddings when I was four years old because my mam was at Greenham Common for the weekend,” writes a then-19-year-old Lauren Laverne. And 17-year-old Katie Wharton insists: “I want to succeed on feminine rather than masculine terms (discovering exactly what feminine terms are in the process).”
Does feminism have a place in Britain today? Girls are doing better than boys at school. More women are in paid work than men. We have seen women striding into the corridors of power: among them a prime minister, a head of MI5 and a director of public prosecution. We see young female singers talking gleefully about girl power and women taking control of all aspects of their lives: suing employers for discrimination, bringing up children on their own, or deciding not to have children at all. In this brave new world does a movement for women’s rights have a place?
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