An Update

The women’s rights movement and their battle to achieve equality of the sexes has always largely interested me and been a basis for my journalistic work. The idea behind Femme or Foe was inspired by a documentary entitled The Red Pill, which delved into the fairly unknown realms of men’s rights activism; a movement that has continued documented throughout 2017.

Therefore, I wanted to investigate the role of men within feminism and whether the most prominent gender equality movement was effective and representative of both genders.

The main aim of my documentary is to find out whether there can ever be one political movement that represents both men’s and women’s issues and aims for total equality.

CURRENT INTERVIEWEES AND CONTENT:

• Reclaim The Night march – includes speeches, vox pops and colour

• David Brockway of the Great Lad Initative – a male feminist activist and project leader that aims to increase education around gender equality in the younger generation

• John Mays of Parity – a gender equality charity that has ran for nearly 30 years, aiming to address issues of inequality such as domestic violence and the gap in education for young males.

• Mark Brooks, chair of Mankind initiative for male abuse victims.

STILL TO COME:

An interview with a leading female feminist – my planned contact is Erin Mansell, organiser for Reclaim the Night and part of the London Feminist Network.

STRENGTHS:

I have conducted thought provoking interviews and obtained a range of male voices, particularly those educated about and involved in the gender equality debate – such as representatives of charities and organisations. Many of the men’s voices express a range of different opinions regarding gender equality and the feminist movement.

The colour and content I recorded whilst at the Reclaim the Night march is particularly strong and highlights the popularity, and perhaps some of the faults, within the feminist movement.

CHALLENGES:

However, at the start of the process, obtaining men’s rights activists proved to be a challenge, with many of the prominent UK men’s voices refusing interviews due to the fact that I am a student journalist.

I am also struggling with representing the female feminist perspective and asking them the hard-hitting questions such as “why do you think men may feel excluded from feminism?” and “is feminism ignoring men’s issues?”

The production process is going well, but not without the helpful feedback I have received and the constant changes that come with conducting new interviews and fine tuning of the ideas discussed. I have decided to focus on men’s rights in the form of one sole issue: sexual assault and violence rather than 3 or 4 key issues.

#mensrights #genderequality #feminism #update