Is Feminism for Everybody?

A quarter of a century ago this month, bell hooks published Feminism is for Everybody, which remains one of the most widely read introductions to feminism. Written in accessible, jargon-free language, it demystifies feminism and makes it available to all.

For hooks, feminism is not simply about achieving equality with men in existing systems, but about rethinking the systems and ending sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression in all its forms and for all. In her deeply radical vision, feminism must be collective, transformative, and rooted in love, care, and community.

This narrative of hooks is deep, clear, and actually insists feminism is political. Not in the vague “let’s all get along” sense, but in the actual “patriarchy, racism, capitalism, imperialism—we see your harm” sense.

And yet, twenty-five years on, as political morality flew to some distant galaxy and was subsequently swallowed by a black hole, people still behave as if feminism is either a nice to have or the reason the black holes exist.

Narrative strategist Jeta Bejtullahu is bringing together doers who are thinking and organising differently, to discuss whether feminism is, actually, for everybody. This is not a panel discussion. It is a space to better understand the narratives we surrender to.

All genders are more than warmly welcome; we encourage as many men and as many male plus ones to join us.

Facilitators

Agnès Hubert is a leading European expert on gender policymaking and a lecturer on EU and gender. She headed EU gender equality policy in the 1990s and later worked in the European Commission’s think tank (now IDEA). She is a professor at the College of Europe, co-founder of the feminist think tank Gender5plus, and a member of France’s Haut Conseil de l’Égalité. Author of three books on gender and Europe (1998, 1999, 2022), she has also shaped major EU initiatives on gender equality and social innovation.

Joanna Maycock is an award-winning feminist organiser and campaigner, who has worked in leadership roles in civil society for decades. While leading the European Women’s Lobby, Joanna worked to implement a strategic vision for the women’s movement in Europe, to strengthen its joint work to impact EU legislation to end violence against women, tackle women’s poverty and unequal pay, and advance parity in decision-making. Today, Joanna is co-founder of the Flamingo Collective and works on intersectional feminist leadership for systemic change.

Tamara Makoni is an inclusion specialist with broad experience in diversity, equity and inclusion and cross-cultural leadership. Her passion for this stems from growing up across 3 continents, and has deepened through study, travel and working with teams in 30+ countries while leading projects for large multinationals. She recently published "Women, Intersectionality & Europe” shining a light on the diverse realities of women across the European continent — not just the EU.

Georgia Brooks founded The Nine & The Nine Equality Initiative in 2020, inspired by the many incredible women and associations she encountered in Belgium. Based in Brussels, she is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. Since 2017, she is also the Founder and Managing Director of the Fempower Initiative – a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the King Baudouin Foundation that supports healthcare and education projects for girls and young women throughout the Middle East.

Jeta Bejtullahu is a narrative strategist known to dig into difficult conversations, with kindness and humour, not to unsettle but to understand where differences lie and what bridges we need to build and cross.