Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Oh for heaven's sake! I'm trying to set up a group...

52 replies

FlamingoBingo · 18/01/2011 17:54

...but I'm really struggling with having the guts to do it!

I know there's enough interest to start something, but I'm wondering about calling it something other than Townname Feminists.

I'm wondering about whether to allow men to be involved at some level.

I had a great name for it in the middle of the night, and a great vision for it too...but it's gone now - can't remember the name at all! I'm just thinking we might attract more members if we didn't have the word feminist in the name (even if it's plastered all over everything else!).

And I know I'm just rambling here, and not really asking anything specific...apart from a bit of moral support, maybe?

OP posts:

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 22/01/2011 13:42

Hehe - thanks, SGB. Really not sure if anything's going to happen yet!

Next question for everyone: If you were starting a group with about four or five women, what would you do for your first meeting?

OP posts:

ButterPieify · 23/01/2011 12:05

Thanks David, but i have been trying to contact them for a while. There is a feminist group in Newcastle, but they are a uni society, although I am hoping to link up with them.

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 23/01/2011 16:56

meet in a pub or a coffeeshop (so it is relaxed) and talk about what you want out of the group.
and possibly have a theme for discussion (eg 'Why We Need Feminism' as a good general one to start off) or treat it like a book group if people are keen on reading.

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 23/01/2011 16:57

we decided we would allow men in ours and see how it goes; to date, a few men have joined the Facebook group but none have come to the meetings.

Takver · 23/01/2011 17:50

I'd go for the meeting in a pub/cafe/wherever is appropriate and discussing what you want to do.

Warning on the book idea - a group of friends were discussing a women's group (admittedly slightly different - mutual support/socialising) and the one thing that appeared to unite the majority of women was that they didn't want to have to read a book in order to be able to come!

Takver · 23/01/2011 17:52

Good luck with your group, btw!

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 23/01/2011 18:06

yes indeed Takver - some people would run a mile at the thought of a book group.

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 13:06

Getting a bit frustrated! I've got 6 'likes' on my townname feminists page on FB. One is me, and one is a MNer who is supporting me but doesn't live close. That means only FOUR of my local friends!

I'm desperate to post this as my status update - will it really piss people off?

"Is it the word 'feminist' that is objected to? I'm just a bit surprised at the desperately low number of Gloucester women who have expressed an interest in starting a new group hoping to learn more about and possibly even campaign about gender equality! Are there really only 3 or 4 of my friends who believe that women should be equal to men!?"

OP posts:

David51 · 02/02/2011 13:31

What have you done so far to advertise your FB group? For my new Men's reading group Ive contacted various relevant websites listed by UK Feminista & asked them to post a link.

I wonder if you should set up an initial meeting with your 4 friends and then use your FB page to publicise whatever comes out of it? That way people will see that you are a proper active group & not just something that exists in cyberspace - which means they might be more willing to sign up.

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 16:45

It's more the frustration at my RL friends, David! I haven't advertised it yet, and will start it small anyway, even if no one else expresses interest.

OP posts:

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 02/02/2011 16:57

I wouldn't phrase it so negatively, it will sound chippy and make feminism come across as not much fun.
According to a book I once bought at the railway station(!), the way to get people to do something is to make it look like other people are doing it too, so they think it is cool and are influenced by peer group pressure.
I would say something positive about the people who are coming and how you can't wait to hear from other people who want to come too, or something.

ElephantsAndMiasmas · 02/02/2011 17:09

You want to post "buying wine for the women's group tonight, it's at 7pm and all welcome" or similar :)

sethstarkaddersmackerel · 02/02/2011 17:14

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 17:53

Hehe. Ok, will not post that angry rant Will come up with something more positive and exciting....

OP posts:

ElephantsAndMiasmas · 02/02/2011 19:08

Yes otherwise it sounds a bit "why does no-one want to play with meee?" which I appreciate isn't your intention :)

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 19:09

Shall I tell a big lie? I'm thinking of saying "a group of us are meeting at XXX on XXX - come along to discuss...". Discuss what, though? Clearly feminism freaks them out...

OP posts:

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 19:44

Ok, what do you think of this...as a way of getting women interested in making connections to eventually have a long term feminist group going:

"In Europe, fewer than 1 in 2000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. In some parts of Africa, more than 1 in 20 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. I'm sure you'll all agree that this inequity is unacceptable. A group of us are meeting at X on X to discuss the planning of an event on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day to raise awareness of the work the White Ribbon Alliance is doing to change this. Please join us if you can - if you can't but you would like to be involved, just let me know."

Might have to split it to two status updates, but might email it out too with some links. What do you think?

OP posts:

feministlurker · 02/02/2011 21:26

It sounds a bit like you are setting the agenda for the group, whereas there might be women out there interested in different aspects of feminism. Some people might surprise you with what they are interested in and when you have a small group it's good if as many of you as possible already feel passionate about the issues, rather than having to be persuaded at each meeting.

I would recommend posting something along the lines E+M suggested and then simply going ahead, meeting with however members can make it on the day, making it FUN and also maybe set up a "discussion" on the FB group for those who can't make it for "what do we want out of this group".

A lot of people do appear nervous of "feminists" as being ultra-left, marxists, anarchists, anti-capitalists etc. So in a way you have to prove yourselves to be what you are. Once you have demonstrated what your agenda is, people will come to you (with the aid of some judiciously placed letters in the Yourhometown Citizen, etc).

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 02/02/2011 21:31

But I'd like to arrange something for International Women's Day anyway...and I'm kind of hoping a feminist group will form out of that, once people realise that the word 'feminism' really isn't that scary. The group I want to set up isn't about WRA - the event is, though. Not sure if I'm making sense.

OP posts:

feministlurker · 02/02/2011 22:02

I do think I understand what you mean, but you can't be a one-woman group - the group has to be the group if you see what I mean.

So don't panic and have confidence in yourself and your own view. Just take it step by step and make sure you take the other group members with you. (metaphorically)

Facebook "likes" don't always equate to active group members in RL - read the stories of how other groups were set up - you may decide to publicise your group via a variety of different methods including flyers, local media etc etc.

Also, to warn you in advance, quite a few women appear to use Google or other search engines to find local feminist groups (and then decide to join or not to join, depending on what they find) but these same people don't seem to always like to use Facebook.

TapselteerieO · 02/02/2011 22:15

Can you ask the four people who have liked it to see if they can find a couple of friends to come to the first meeting?

AliceWorld · 02/02/2011 22:19

I agree about it being more of a 'let's get together and see what happens' kind of thing. You could also say at that meeting 'I want to do x for IWD, does anyone else want to help out' and people may well do so. But personally I wouldn't set the group agenda.

The group I'm in is lots of chatting consciousness raising and then sometime we do stuff. Without the less formal stuff, we wouldn't have the contacts for the more formal stuff.

And a very small number of my facebook friends would be interested in my group. Some people just aren't political. No matter what the cause.

Also, on a slight tangent, why is the focus on what the White Ribbon campaign are doing. I support White Ribbon but what about the work women's groups are doing too?

TapselteerieO · 02/02/2011 22:22

I would also make an invitation and send it to people by private message, you can invite people to events on fb and they can hit a yes/no/maybe button, leaving comments to. I am not sure how this is done, but if you have an event for people to come to it might help?

Tag everyone you would like to come onto a photo/advert either for the international women's day celebration or on a poster for your first meeting. Sometimes there are so many people posting links to groups/you tube/music videos etc that you miss anything of interest because the sheer volume of fb traffic pushes it all down the page (this is especially true when using a phone to check fb).

Hth and good luck!

Original poster

FlamingoBingo · 03/02/2011 09:07

Alice - just because I thought it might make people more interested. Although I take your point that many people just aren't political.

Thanks everyone - will just push a bit harder, I think

OP posts:

ElephantsAndMiasmas · 03/02/2011 09:37

I think people might be confused as to why you are starting a women's group specifically to support the work of men fighting for womens liberation. Seems a bit convoluted. Aren't they supposed to be supporting us?

Flip

1 2 3