Of the approximately 500 people who attended Feminism in London 09, 177 returned a filled in evaluation form either on the day on by email afterwards. This page provides a summary of the feedback.

Age

There was a wide range of ages, but the majority of the attendees were under 35. 

Gender

The evaluation forms had Female, Male, Transgender and Other categories. Women greatly outnumbered men. No one selected the Transgender or Other categories, although one woman said she was pleased we had them. We assume that any trans women who attended selected the Female category and that any trans men who attended selected the Male category.

Sexual orientation

Although the majority of people were heterosexual, lesbian, gay, queer and bisexual were well represented.

Ethnic grouping

It was obvious on the day that there were people from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnic groups. In the table below, we have grouped White British, White English, White Irish, White European, White Australian and White Other together. Similarly Asian British, Asian Indian, Asian Pakistani, Asian Chinese and Asian Other have been grouped under Asian and Black British, Black African, Black Carribean and Black Other have been grouped under Black.

How did you hear about Feminism in London?

There were a very wide range of ways in which people heard about Feminism in London 09.

How would you rate the registration?

We clearly have a lot to learn about making the registration process better.

How would you rate Feminism in London 09 overall?

The overwhelming response was positive, with only one person rating the event as "fair" and no one as "poor".

What was your favourite part of Feminism in London 09?

This was an open-ended question and there were a wide variety of answers. Here is a word cloud created at http://www.wordle.net/ from all the responses to this question. Wordle word clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently. This gives an indication of the most notable thing about the answers, which was that 76 respondents mentioned the What's wrong with prostitution? panel as their favourite or one of their favourite parts of the day.

The following table shows this and some of the themes that ran through the responses. Many people mentioned more than one thing, so the responses don't add up to 177. It was notable that every single workshop was mentioned at least once. The No recourse to public funds had a capacity of 16, so that 6 people mentioned it as one of their favourite parts of the day suggests that it was of a particularly high quality.

After the table, we provide a selection of verbatim responses.

Here is a selection of the open-ended responses to this question:

• Meeting lots of feminists - talking about ACTUAL feminism and not being side lined by government/other agendas. Racism and sexism workshop. Having a HUGE HALL and a BIG PLATFORM. Having a space to talk about feminism - we do not have such spaces (or very few) in Manchester - it's a luxury to have such spaces - THANK YOU!
• The prostitution discussion was fantastic - Very happy that you had such a big discussion session on motherhood and pay.
• Talking with others.
• The diversity of women present and involved in the workshops - especially women of colour and young and old women.
• Hearing prostituted women talk about their experiences was very moving.
• I like the stalls and being able to pick up leaflets and learn about new projects and campaigns.
• Meeting lots of interesting women and networking with them.
• Participating in workshops with very different focuses and outcomes (large panel on prostitution very interesting but smaller activism workshop was very useful!!).
• Being able to meet and talk to like minded people on the issues of feminism, as well as for the first time being able to speak to other (pro) feminist men.
• This is the first time I've been in a room and felt everyone speaking the same language!  How could lots and lots of feminism not win?
• The workshop on prostitution was very moving and definitely opened my eyes about the truths of prostitution and why we should work to end it.
• What's wrong with prostitution - devastating and gave me so much to think about and reassess.
• The woman talking about being prostituted - really opened my eyes.
• Workshop about prostitution - this was completely lifechanging - not a dry eye in the house.
• Networking, chance to see energy and commitment of younger women and ways younger women taking feminism forward. Feeling less isolated in writing on feminist topics.
• Hanging out with feminists!
• 1. The introduction to the whole issue of how women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are portrayed in society in relation to capitalism, heterosexism and the cosmetic industry therefore creating objects of desire for a male audience. 2. The concluding panel was excellent.
• Listening to other women and understanding more about other women's life experiences.
• Having time to think.
• Prostitution panel. Rebecca's contribution moved me to tears.
• The space and time for women to express themselves on important topics.
• Being part of a dialogue and opening my eyes to issues.
• A day to be an unmoderated feminist and to learn.
• Being in a feminist-friendly space among swathes of people who UNDERSTAND things - overall a lovely friendly atmosphere - thank you!
• The fearless discussion of prostition, which changed my views entirely. More generally, spending time in such a positive environment has been so inspirational and refreshing.
• Hearing the head of the pan African Women's Network's global vision of re-empowerment.
• What's wrong with prostitution workshop and panel. Rape workshop. Lunch - the food was amazing!

Are there any topics you would like to see included next year?

This was another open-ended question. So let's start with another word cloud, created at http://www.wordle.net/ from all the responses. After the word cloud there is a table that lists some of the themes that ran through the answers (sometimes grouped rather arbitrarily) and how many people mentioned them and after that there is a selection of the verbatim responses.

• More topics on solutions e.g. women's projects that are promoting positive body image among women and young women. Equality duty as a tool that local women's groups can influence for public change.
• Women's health. Education. Anti-racism. Older women's issues. Parenthood and childcare. Workplace struggles. Refugees and asylum seekers.
• Maybe… the role of younger feminists, resisting the 'sex-sells' feminism that is in vogue, combating negative portrayals of feminists and 'sex negativism' accusation of challenging the liberal doctrine of 'choice' and 'empowerment'.
• Challenging the anti-feminist backlash. Sexism in other countries and international feminist solidarity. Portrayal of LBT women in the media - 'Lesploitation', etc.
• More on feminism and motherhood. More discussions of beauty industry, body violence and hatred. Feminism and religion.
• Women at work, tackling unequal pay, women in trade unions, more on how different types of racism affect women's lives. More on how poverty affects women and how women can fight it. Working to challenge sexism with young people.
• Inclusivity for women in feminism across religion, race, gender. Women and prison. Women and immigration.
• Analysis of WHY things occur not simply WHAT e.g. women and poverty within capitalist system.
• Stereotyping of single parents and legislation. Sexism at work. Sexual abuse - problems with law regarding proving this. The working mother.
• Feminism in mainstream education - how to incorporate it.
• How photoshop is used to alter images. Susie Orbach should have included one slide on the feminine hygeine industry in her slide show. Radical menstruation.
• Women in alternative cultures/subcultures of music. i.e. women in punk today. Women in metal and rock culture.
• How to engage with sexism on a practical level - how to converse with people whose perspective is at the other end of the spectrum.
• Anything!
• Capitalism (sucks), climate change, more international issues, more about activism and direct action.
• More concrete ideas on how we can band together and be activist in our aims.
• The female eunuch as personified by 'porn star' mentality and marketing to womens low self esteem and perpetuation of that onto next generation.
• Something inspiring in addition to the tough topics covered.;e.g. Lisa Marie (I think that was her name) and how she manages to have a ten-year-old who’s still able to wear pink - awesome. I'd like to hear about inspirational change. e.g working with youths and hearing about attitude changes from people working with them.
• Queer feminist movement. How can we negotiate transgender/transsexual issues in feminism? Privilege.
• Specifically a workshop about engaging more women and men in a non-threatening discourse on feminism.
• Intersectionality - lots of discussion around class, ethnicity, etc. porn 'glamour' culture, lads' mags, workplace issues. Assertiveness/confidence. Mental health. Debate about how to make feminism more inclusive, while not watering it down. I think issues of violence and discrimination at work and especially against mothers, etc. do affect ALL women but perhaps the issue is how to discuss these in an inclusive way.
• I enjoyed the workshop on raising children in the age of porn, would enjoy to see more on pornography and sexualisation in modern culture.
• More re. older women. Awareness of different sexualities and how this effects women differently. More about how to influence governtment(s), local authorities, etc and using existing legislation to do so.
• Secular women -nly spaces and the threat of increased visibility and credibility given to religion.
  Something to celebrate and encourage women's artist contributions.
• Feminism is back - addressing the stigma of feminism.

Would you be interested in occasional one-day weekend workshops?

The majority of people said they would be interested in occasional one-day weekend workshops.

If so, what subjects would you like to see covered?

Many people said they would like to see the same topics covered as they suggested for the question about what they would like to see covered next year, but some said something different. Here's word cloud (created at http://www.wordle.net/) from all the responses.

Do you have any other comments or suggestions?

This was another open-ended question. And here's a word cloud, created at http://www.wordle.net/ from all the responses.

Here is a selection of the responses to this question:

• Really good day - fantastic.
• Excellent day with a good cross section of speakers: class and colour. As a stall holder it works very well.
• The workshops could have been longer, the venue in general larger.
• Venue - main hall a bit warm and very hard to get to tables around the outside. A space where these could be held as an exhibition in a separate room would be good. This was the first feminist event I've ever attended and was very interesting, informative and inspiring.
• LOVED IT!
• This was a brilliant day and I hope I can utilise what I have learned. Thank you.
• It was excellent. More speakers from different Countries i.e. women from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Philipines, China, Russia, TAMIL.
• Mini ice breaker/networking - to make it easier to meet a few people; 'speed dating' or something similar.
• Acknowledge that many of us not subscribe to a gender binary. Make the running a campaign workshop more practical. I'd be interested in running a workshop or performing at the charity cabaret if you choose to do that again. Overall what a lovely inspiring day! Thank you so much!!
  keep up the good work - we need you!!
• Not enough time for everything - 2 day conference maybe?
• This should be a week long! Also the event description 'for women and pro-feminist men' - men CAN be feminists. Also don't think this is inclusive of people outside the categories of men/women; e.g. transgender, etc.
• Longer, focusing on movement building; taking the power back, providing for direct action, international issues. Feminism for kids! (workshops, games). More interactive workshops.
• Would've been nice to have a positive "activist" end to workshops and/or a "chill-out" room where people could offload the very emotional workshops.
• What's wrong with prostitution was brilliant. Really touching, heart breaking, challenging. It was AMAZING to hear such open and personal sharing of people's lives. Really opened my mind and touched my heart. Mentions of lesbian and gay without mentioning 'bisexual' too.
• More racial diversity on all panels, not just those on racism would be good. More concrete goals and calls to action.
• Too many closed workshops for topics of interest to all, like brining up children in an age of pornification, etc. Also very inspiring to hear Bea Campbell and Susie Orbach at beginning - need more eloquent speakers and those who can link current struggles with historical ones. Good to have an over-arching view from Bea about where we were and where we are now and what we need to focus on still. A more internationalist feel.
• More interesting way of presentations for speakers.
• A workshop/question panel I attended was quite pressed for time re questions which was a shame as the one I went to which did have time provided some really interesting and beneficial discussions.
• Have panel sessions be more focussed - perhaps answering a specific question. Focus more on things that are working/changing. Most of us here already know the challenges and problems.
• Lovely lunch, thanks, reasonable cost.
• Next year's event should be held in a bigger venue.
• Would have been better if you planned for a bigger turnout. So there were more workshops available and more food for lunch!
• Please no more workshops where people have to discuss in groups but do not have enough time after to discuss.
• The option of a lecture with an expert on a certain area, like Susie Orbach, rather than a panel/workshop would be good.
• Lunch was not successful - queue was way too long because people didn't know what was in sandwiches. Only sandwiches left when we got there - not worth £3.
• More space on workshops - option to register in advance. Stalls in a separate hall.
• Queue for registering on workshops was too long - perhaps this could be speeded up next year.
  What about starting up consciousness raising groups again? Have a London women's liberation newsletter.
• Fewer sessions with longer duration.
• It's great - keep it up.
• Absolutely fabulous event. MORE!! MORE!!
• Really enjoyed it. I look forward to more networking. Britain needs a feminist magazine like "Ms", "Bitch" in the US. Perhaps we need to start one?
• You could possibly charge more for this to those who can afford it! It's an amazing event that I'd love to be more involved with.
• I was almost dissuaded from attending the event because of the "females and pro-feminist males" description. I am neither, I am a feminist male. This also implied all attendees took one position on the gender binary, which is something I consider feminism to be active against.
• Brilliantly organised. Great achievement to recruit so many committed bright women.
• Thank you for an incredible event that you have amazingly managed to keep affordable.
• Could the question time panel have nameplates please? Slightly stricter timings for speakers would be nice. Could we register for workshops beforehand please?
• A bigger venue and better lunch planning.
• 1. Create a way to have more meaningful discussion on the issues via smaller workshops? 2. Workshops for specific groups of feminists - including those who were around in the 70s and want to build on that. It's fabulous that there's lots of young women and new feminists here but for those of us who've already done that initial learning we need a higher starting point. Therefore this is not about age but about consciousness levels.
• I think that this conference is very valuable as far as education goes and also for networking. Perhaps more room for discussion/debate would be useful, but generally I think it was great!
• Very informative day. I don't feel I know enough to make a solid contribution as yet but would in a few years.
• The experience was fantastic, very refreshing and soul consoling - one feels quite lonely out there when speaking about feminism, what's bad about prostitution and so on. On that regard, thank you all. The venue was slightly small and made it a bit uncomfortable. I understand it was good news, meaning there was lots of us, but the air was impossible to breathe on the afternoon (literally), making keeping concentration quite difficult - and there were great people speaking after lunch!. MANY THANKS TO ALL INVOLVED IN FEMINISM LONDON '09.
• Your website is a brilliant resource.
• It's important not to make the conference too academic, but a better balance between grass roots experience of "ordinary" women with some informed debate on policy and specific policy answers to problems such as prostitution, women and work, etc.
• Great event. Lots of women present. Good vibe. Really enjoyed it. Fab food - great range of salads.
• Thank you for organising this event.

Read the Report >>

Read the Speeches >>

Feminism in London 09 Speakers and Facilitators >>

Feminism in London 09 Workshop Descriptions >>