Gross-out feminism: is the political now too personal?

‘The Personal is Political’, was formerly a rallying cry used by the feminist movement. Fifty years later, contemporary feminism seems more concerned with the personal than ever before – at the most visceral, physical level – from campaigns around periods to debates about body weight. Is a younger, more liberated generation simply more comfortable about talking about their personal lives? Are critics of contemporary body-obsessed feminism just squeamish and behind the times? Or should a political movement for women’s freedom be more focused on changing the public sphere, rather than focusing on the private self?

Filmed at the Battle of Ideas at the Barbican, the speakers are :- Julie Burchill: journalist; author; broadcaster; columnist, Sunday Telegraph. Samantha Davies: barrister; writer; commentator; president, Business and Human Rights Commission, Union Internationale des Avocats. Beth Hayden: higher education outreach co-ordinator; Living Freedom alumnus. Professor Vicky Pryce: chief economic adviser and board member, Centre for Economics and Business Research; author, Women vs Capitalism. Rebecca Reid: digital editor, Grazia; author, Perfect Liars and The Power of Rude. The chair is Ella Whelan: co-convenor, Battle of Ideas festival; journalist and frequent commentator on TV and radio; author, What Women Want.