Feminism and Backlash
with Nancy Kelley
Nancy Kelley she/her
Nancy has spent her career working towards social justice and the realisation of universal human rights in fields ranging from mental health and poverty eradication to refugee protection. Until July she was the CEO of the charity Stonewall and as such worked as part of the movement in the UK and around the world. She is now helping small start up organisations in the same fields.
We talked about where the backlash comes from, what the solution is (if any), the historical evidence of backlash against various activist movements and so many more incredibly interesting and timely things.
From the Stonewall website: At Stonewall, we stand for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. We imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be ourselves and can live our lives to the full…Over the last 30 years, we have helped create transformative change in the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the UK. Today, we have equal rights to love, marry and have children, and our lives, families and relationships are represented as part of the national curriculum in most of the UK.
Texts Discussed
Sara Ahmed, 2024, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook
Drawing on her own stories and those of others, especially Black and brown feminists and queer thinkers, Sara Ahmed writes about life as a ‘feminist killjoy’ - someone who often induces an eye-roll from people around them for bringing up sexism and racism in conversation.
Leslie Feinberg, 1993, Stone Butch Blues
Stone Butch Blues is a fictional novel written about the complex life of a transgender person. It has been widely celebrated as a brilliant work of fiction.
The author, Leslie Feinberg, wanted the book to be freely accessible to anyone and everyone, which we massively respect at Grabbing Back. So download the PDF for free by clicking the button.