Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Who Are Your Feminist Icons?

65 replies

ALunerExplorer · 05/01/2018 13:37

In his latest article for the Spectator, Brendon O'Neill praises Anne Widdicombe as the 'common sense' feminist icon' we 'should Hmm all get on board with'. Brendan O'Neill, whom I won't give the time of day to is a racist misogynistic arse, so his pronouncements are only good for the cat litter tray.

(Here's a link to it (if you can stomach him) blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/01/ann-widdecombe-is-the-feminist-hero-we-need-right-now/)

Since it is not for men to tell us who our feminist icons and hero's should be, I thought a thread so that we can name our own would be good. And they don't have to be famous - any woman who has inspired/mentored/helped counts.

Here's some of mine (the list isn't complete because there are so may Grin)

My Grandmother. (For far too many reasons to name here, but she was an activist her entire life)
My Mum (as above).
Mary Wollstonecraft (writer/mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein)
Emily Dickinson (poet)
Aphra Benn (restoration era poet and playwright)
Elizabeth Barrett-Browning (poet)
Effie Gray (artist)
Jane Austin (writer)
Eleanor Roosevelt (campaigner and activist)
bell hooks (writer and activist)
Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza (liberation theologian who coined the term 'kyriarchy')
Barbara Castle (politican)
Angela Davies (activist and writer)
Roz Kaveny (poet and activist)
Harper Lee (Writer)
Audre Lorde (writer and activist)
Dianne Abbott (politican)

...to name but a few. Smile Who are some of yours?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
woman11017 · 12/01/2018 18:59

Anne Widdicombe did advocate chaining women in labour.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chaining-women-backed-1323238.html

My icons today:
Magdalen Berns.
Helen Steele
Anne Ruzylo
Linda Bellos
Southall Black Sisters
Andrea Dworkin
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Golda Meir
Oprah Winfrey
Hilary Clinton
Barbara Castle
Beyonce
The Greenham Common Women
Everyone who went on the Global Women's marches last year.

PositivelyPERF · 12/01/2018 18:32

Thank you, AR

Eleanorsummer · 12/01/2018 18:30

Margaret Atwood, Carol Ann Duffy and Mary Wollstonecraft.

AssassinatedBeauty · 12/01/2018 17:33

I buy books from either Waterstones Marketplace (secondhand) or Hive books who donate to local independent book shops.

PositivelyPERF · 12/01/2018 17:04

I'm not up to speed with online shopping, so could any of you fabulous posters advise me the best site to buy books from? Thanks in advance.

LyraPotter · 12/01/2018 10:43

What a fab thread! Here are some of mine:

Ruby Tandoh from GBBO - so much great stuff about mental health, food health, self care etc

@bodiposipanda (that's her Instagram handle) - for her amazing contributions to the body positivity movement

Munroe Bergdorf - I honestly don't know how she's brave enough to keep going in the face of the backlash she gets and I have learned so much from her

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - her TED talk 'we should all be feminists' is just amazing

Maya Angelou - for obvious reasons

Ruth Bader Ginsburg - because I'm a lawyer and she's my role model!

Beyoncé - Lemonade!!!

Emma Watson - not perfect but has done a huge amount to bring feminism to the public consciousness

Deathraystare · 12/01/2018 10:31

I like to think Elizabeth the First can be included.

PrincessClittany · 06/01/2018 20:45

Those are definately my Feminist Icons:
Anita Sarkeesian
Emma Watson
Joan of Arc
Oprah Winfrey
Ryan Conner
Lisa Ann
Nicky Benz
Stella Cox
Touka Kirishima
Jessica Rabbit.

furcoatnaeknickers · 06/01/2018 18:47

The Suffragettes were my first inspiration
Then Susan Faludi and the awesome Germaine Greer
In my teens I was always impressed by Jo Brand, I remember her being the first comedian I could remember making jokes about periods and ‘women’s stuff’. She still kicks arse and recently did a great wee bit on ‘have I got news for you’ when all the men were laughing about the Westminster sex scandal

I used to think of Nicola Sturgeon in a very positive way but her determination to change gender recognition to self id means I will never really respect what she does again Sad

PositivelyPERF · 06/01/2018 15:34

Sarah Is your granny well known in her own right? If there isn't a book on her, please write one. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would absolutely love to read it, as she sounds incredible.

There should be a campaign on mumsnet to recognise the lesser known amazing women that hace fought against the male dominated society.

UpABitLate · 06/01/2018 15:22

Yes all bow before me in the reflected glory Grin

BertrandRussell · 06/01/2018 15:04
UpABitLate · 06/01/2018 14:56

I met Dittany you know Smile

Mooncuplanding · 06/01/2018 09:34

Dittany -yy to this. I miss her on here, she was UNREAL

Germaine Greer is unquestionably an influence - i try for her 'don't give a fuck' attitude every day

Prof Carol smart - she was a feminist sociologist lecturer I had at uni and she set me off for my now 25 years of being a rad fem. Think she's still around, she was inspirational,

Naomi Wolf's work on beauty changed me

Maya Angelou's work on love changed me

Megthehen · 06/01/2018 09:25

Germaine of course and many other women who articulated so much of what I felt as a girl in a v. traditional household (boy jobs and girl jobs).

The suffragettes - breaks my heart still to think that my lovely gran was born disenfranchised, wept when leaving school at 12 to work for many years before an abusive marriage (no refuges then).

Erin Pizzey (spelling apologies)

NKFell · 05/01/2018 23:46

Mumsnet has definitely awakened me, as a previous poster said so mumsnet for giving a voice to so many posters who have enlightened me on here but also:

Mary Beard
All the suffragettes
Mary Wollstonecraft
Fanny Burney
Germaine Greer
Ada Lovelace
My Mum, both grandmothers and great grandmother.

QuentinSummers · 05/01/2018 22:16

I forgot Karen Ingala Smith and I love her Blush

ClosedAuraOpenMind · 05/01/2018 22:07

and forgot Glosswitch (who I found here)

ClosedAuraOpenMind · 05/01/2018 22:06

in no particular order

Caroline Criado Perez (campaigned for women on bank notes)
Naomi Wolf ( The Beauty Myth)
Marilyn French (The Women's Room)
Laura Bates (Everyday Sexism)
Hillary Clinton
Kez Dugdale
Monica Lennon (MSP and campaigner on period poverty)
Nicola Sturgeon
Stella Creasy
Jess Phillips

WhatKatyDidnt · 05/01/2018 22:00

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson - the first British woman to qualify as a doctor (amongst many other achievements)

www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/garrett_anderson_elizabeth.shtml

ThatsWotSheSaid · 05/01/2018 21:47

Sandi toksvig

daydreamnation · 05/01/2018 21:40

My own Dad.
I grew up in a small village in rural Leicester in the 70/80s, it was full of narrow minded misogynistic men.
My Dad was the village 'eccentric' he worked from home, did all the household chores and it was a family joke that he knew more about womens current affairs than us, as he was an avid listener of woman's hour.
At almost 70 he is still passionate about womens rights, although weary about the many inequalities that still exist.
The best thing is he had a son and my brother is just as brilliant as his Dad!

TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain · 05/01/2018 21:40

Rose Heilbron - trailblazer and low-key feminist
Victoria Wood - all of the tired arguments about women not being funny and not being able to do standup, conveniently forgot her.
Nancy Astor - flawed but important
Johanna Beyer - practically invented electronic music. Actually, electronic composition is something that male artists have usurped from women, and claimed was "theirs" all along.
Germaine Greer
Virginia Nicholson for her accessible works on women's history.

starstucknamechanger · 05/01/2018 21:39

Name changed because everyone who knows me knows this story.....

I met Germaine Greer queuing for the toilets in the emirates business class lounge in Dubai!!

I was utterly star struck and dying to ask for a selfie but instead tried to be a total professional grown up and keep my cool while she was joking around about having to queue for the loo in business class and could we get away with nipping into the gents without being thrown in jail?!

Most surreal moment of my life GrinGrin (and to this day KICKING myself that I didn't just ask for a bloody selfie!!)

birdsdestiny · 05/01/2018 21:30

Germaine Greer
Julie Bindel
Mary Beard
I think the fact that mumsnet has allowed women to have a voice in what must be incredibly difficult circumcstances is quite a considerable feminist contribution.

Swipe left for the next trending thread