Laura Bates started the Everyday Sexism Project in April 2012, in response to the persistent narrative espoused in the media and elsewhere that sexism is no longer prevalent in contemporary life. Having repeatedly heard that women now share the same status as men and that gender-based comments or so-called ‘jokes’ are simply par for the course and must be endured, Laura launched the website to provide a space for people to talk about the instances of sexism they experience in everyday life.
In its first year the site received 25,000 stories and quickly became a powerful agent for change. Laura’s subsequent journalistic work and activism has had a profound effect on attitudes regarding sexism. She has written on the subject for the Guardian, the Independent and the Huffington Post, as well as successfully campaigning against plastic surgery mobile phone apps for children.
In this lecture, Laura will walk us through the history of the Everyday Sexism Project and look towards a hopeful future by examining its positive impact on the lives of women as we work towards a truly equal society, free of prejudice.
With host Jess McGuire.
Featuring
Jess McGuire
Jess McGuire is a writer and broadcaster based in central west NSW, and hosts breakfast radio each weekday morning on on ABC Western Plains. She previously appeared regularly as a reviewer and cultural commentator ...
Laura Bates
Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a collection of over 10,000 women’s daily experiences of gender inequality.
She is also contributor at Women Under Siege, a New York-based project working to combat the use of sexualised violence as a tool of war. She has written for the Independent, the Huffington Post, Grazia, the Women’s Media Center and JUMP! magazine for girls.