In April 2021, Miss Aitken-Burt and a group of inspired and enthusiastic Lower Sixth students established The Athena Society – a new History & Politics group, named after the Greek goddess of wisdom. Through interweaving a variety of disciplines, the group discusses interesting, important and overlooked stories about gender equality across art, classics, history, politics, philosophy and culture. Each term the group reviews articles, books, films and news stories to uncover and understand the hidden stories and struggles of women through time.

Wednesday 10th May 2023

This week at Athena, we reviewed The Woman King – a powerful new 2022 movie about the Agojie female warriors from the Kingdom of Dahomey. Starring Viola Davis, John Boyega and Lashana Lynch, this movie tracks the efforts of the kingdom to fend off Portuguese colonisers as well as the neighbouring Oyo kingdom. Following the story of a teenage girl named Nawi, we see the ways in which female warriors were trained and how the female General Nanisca contends with King Ghezo.

Critics hailed this movie as “a thunderously cinematic good time…a thought-provoking epic inspired by a real-life all-female army” (Guardian) “ferocious warrior tale is a vibrant celebration of Black womanhood in all its glory” (Independent) and “Africans did sell other Africans into slavery. That tremendously significant detail cannot be bent or avoided. Nor must it, of course, be weaponised to minimise or dismiss the culpability of European slave traders. Davis cannot offer redemption to Africans that captured and sold people by erasing Dahomey’s slave trading credentials in the search of a false but feel-good narrative that might appeal to a “universal” audience” (Al Jazeera)

There are elements of the story which are based on reality. King Ghezo ruled 1818-1858 over the ‘golden age’ of Dahomey. However, whilst Nanisca and Nawi are the documented names of Agojie warriors, their stories are adaptations. We discussed how the online debates to boycott the movie due to its ‘historical inaccuracy’ were surely unfounded when all movies are interpretations in themselves?

The film does very well to integrate a nuanced approach to what could have been a quite binary portrayal of White slave traders vs Black African kingdoms or a ‘girl boss’ feminist narrative. Firstly, both the Dahomey and Oyo kingdoms are shown engaging in enslaving people and profiting from this. The brutality of the system is not shied away from in favour of simply glorifying the Dahomey warriors.

Equally, whilst the women are shown as powerful, strong, respected and feared within the kingdom, they are still forced to submit to a patriarchal order. They are forced to be celibate to have their position and are technically married to the king. Nawi is shown to be forced by her father to give up her life outside the palace walls to become an Agojie after refusing to marry an older man. Even the title of the movie ‘Woman King’ shows how they are incongruous beings – people who are neither male nor female by transgressing traditional gender roles.

There was also the interesting perspective of Malik, a mixed race man whose mother was from Dahomey but he had grown up with his father in Portugal. The circumstances of his birth are unclear, but he suffers from the complex displacement from being accepted in neither country.

We also discussed the way in which 19th century Europeans called the Agojie women ‘Amazons’. These female fighters from Greek myth were simultaneously feared and sexualised. Depictions of them always showed them being crushed to restore a patriarchal order. By describing the Agojie in the 19th century through this classical allegory, Europeans sought to emphasise their ‘otherness’ as a reason to colonise them.

Overall, whilst the film does show woman as symbols of strength and power, the film does well to not just glorify the Kingdom of Dahomey but to acknowledge the wider crimes of the slave trade too. They are shown as a mixture of both heroes and villains – perhaps fantasy movies like Black Panther create the heroes that can’t exist in the real world.

As their last session of the year, a round of applause and message of thanks was extended to all of the Y13s who have been part of the society and seen it grow since 2021 (Rebecca, Sophie, Eva, Bea, Freya, Sas, Hilla). In particular to Sophia (U6LAB) who has been a constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm as the society’s second president. They have left an even bigger legacy that the next generation of Athena members will aspire to fill as we seek to expand our activities into the next academic year, getting more schools on board and widening our reach.

Wednesday 3rd May 2023

This week, our Y13s completed some useful English revision by presenting the portrayal of men and women in Tennessee Williams’ famous play from 1947 and the 1951 movie Streetcar named desire which earned 12 Oscar nominations.

The play follows Blanche DuBois who leaves her once prosperous life in Mississippi to stay in a shabby apartment in New Orleans rented by her younger sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley. It is later revealed Blanche was a disgraced school teacher who had illicit relationships with students after her husband committed suicide as a gay man. Stanley is violent and punishes Blanche by raping her, gaslighting her protests and sending her to a mental asylum.

Whilst Blanche is not without her faults, critics directed disparaging remarks towards her rather than Stanley, despite the fact she is the victim of sexual abuse by him.
“The unhappy fate of a faded Southern belle, who strays from her place in society to a psychopathic state and eventually loses her mind” (New Haven Evening Register review 1947) “a mixture of seduction, sordid revelations and incidental perversion which will be revolting to certain playgoers but devoured with avidity by others” (Variety 1947)
“Blanche’s shock at finding her little sister Stella in such surroundings is matched by her distaste of Stella’s mad passion for her husky husband, Stanley. And at once a bitter antagonism springs up between Stanley and Blanche. It is Stanley who, distrustful of Blanche’s fine manners and professed delicacy, unearths her unsavory past.” (Boston Herald 1947)

First we looked at Stanley Kowalski, played by a young Marlon Brando in the 1951 movie. We wondered whether his good looks distract from the abuse he inflicts upon the women in the play – he gets away with his violence as his sex appeal masks the ugliness of his actions and Stella is quick to forgive him. We also considered the class lens, that working class men were praised for their strength and other characters such as Mitch try to emulate Stanley by attempting assaults on women. As Blanche’s comments towards him threaten his masculinity, he reasserts his authority over her through rape.

Then we considered his wife Stella who we felt clearly had low ambitions. She is forced to rely on Stanley and has little choice but to accept his abuses, especially when she becomes pregnant. This means she chooses to wilfully ignore her sister’s rape. There are no examples of independent women succeeding – Blanche’s attempt to be a school teacher ultimately fails.

Finally Blanche seems to hold onto beauty too much as a value, perhaps because she has to seek protection from men in order to survive. She is desperate to conform as a wife and mother that she is willing to marry Mitch even though she doesn’t love him, just for the shelter he can provide. The way she is sent to a mental asylum also reminded us how many women were forced into such institutions for reacting to legitimate offences committed against them. [picture of the reasons]

We wondered why male behaviour is excused whilst female behaviour is harshly reprimanded. For example, when Stanley gets violent, women are told that they shouldn’t be around when men play poker and drink. We also discussed the issue of female sympathy – the DuBois sisters are nonchalant towards their neighbour’s plight despite the fact they know she is suffering domestic violence.

Overall, even though the play is unambiguous about Stanley’s rape of Blanche, the contemporary audience still supported Stanley. He was not considered ‘bad’ and he has not retribution for his actions. If he was not as strong and good looking would he have been so easily acquitted of his crimes? Ugly women are demonised – but do ugly men gain no consequences either? Male stereotypes exist like female ones – and are just as harmful.

With thanks to Bea and Sophie (Y13) for the presentation this week!

Wednesday 26th April 2023

After a hiatus due to Miss Aitken-Burt’s injury, Athena Society kicked off again with exciting news about her presentation at the Classical Association 120th anniversary conference at the University of Cambridge! Over 500 delegates attended and there were scholars from all around the world presenting papers with the latest Classics research. Miss Aitken-Burt presented on one of the 82 panels over the weekend, talking about how setting up the Athena Society has used Classics as a medium for tacking gender equality in schools.

We also had a think about our question from the school conference we held in February on whether music videos and lyrics degrade or empower women. We looked at Serbia’s Eurovision entry which had a deeper meaning about the pressures of beauty standards than its strange performance might have initially suggested. We also looked at the lyrics from Labour by Paris Paloma which had a strong cry to prevent women simply being used as ‘mothers and maids’.

Wednesday 8th February 2023

An exciting day for the Athena Society as we hosted our first ever conference! It’s amazing to see how far the Athena Society has come since its inception in 2021 that we are branching out to create a network of young people who want to understand more about gender equality. Over 50 students participated from Emanuel, St John Bosco’s, Greycoats and Knights Academy Lewisham as we came together to discuss 20 interesting debating questions on mixed group tables. Ideas were put onto A3 mindmaps and shared with everyone, building and expanding ideas. The most interesting points raised were that young people recognise the impact social media is having on topics like gender equality in both positive and negative ways – it has become the place for information but can also spread misinformation as anyone can have a platform.

Overall it was a fantastic event, new connections and friends we made with all students across the four schools coming away really enthused and inspired to know that there are others out there who care about these issues.

Wednesday 1st February 2023

After mock exams and 11+ interviews, Athena Society returned with a movie review session of the incredible Netflix movie The Swimmers. This 2022 movie stars sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa portraying the real life story of sisters Sara and Yusra Mardini. The Mardini sisters were forced to become refugees during the Syrian civil war. When their boat for an illegal crossing from Turkey to Lesbos began to sink, their swimming training for the Olympics allowed them to tow the boat to safety. Despite living in a refugee centre in Germany, Yusra then went on to successfully win gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics whilst Sara went back to Lesbos to work as an activist.

Critics had mixed reviews about the movie: “The sisters are more defined by what happens to them then who they really are” (Guardian) “A long, sometimes broad film, but one that tackles an important and prescient subject, especially considering the ever-increasing numbers of asylum seekers crossing seas in dangerous circumstances.” (Empire) “The Swimmers tells this story as an inspirational, but rarely sugar coated, crowd-pleaser.” (New York times)

There is no doubt that the story of the Mardini sisters is a poignant and incredible one and this movie was certainly added to the list of Athena favourites for bringing to light such a range of issues alongside incredible cinematography. From depicting normal teenage life in Syria before its descent into civil war, to the harrowing frame of thousands of discarded life jackets, this film knows how to get the audience to think in new ways about the refugee headlines we have become so used to.

We wondered whether there is only sympathy created for the Mardini sisters as refugees because they achieve such an incredible feat. Is the story more palatable to a Western audience by showing this type of heroism? As the thousands of discarded life jackets showed, there are so many stories we do not know about.

The film was certainly successful at humanising the refugee experience and giving the story back to the refugees themselves rather than the ‘faceless mass’ they are often described as by politicians and the media. Another poignant moment was when the Muslim women decided to remove their hijabs, realising that this piece of cloth would result in potentially more discrimination within Europe. We also considered the racialised way in which refugees are discussed, for example the recent Ukrainian refugee crisis has been described in very different terms than those from Syria.

The movie also raised important questions about the different experience for male and female refugees. At one point in the film, Yusra is almost sexually assaulted and the girls also suffer catcalling and harassment from male soldiers in Syria too. However, their male cousin Nizar is faced with different prejudice when he reaches Germany, labelled as a potential predator by xenophobic policies which mean he is forced to stay in the refugee camp for longer than the Mardini sisters.

In order to end the movie on an uplifting note, they decided to end it with Yusra’s Olympic win and did not show Sara’s return to Lesbos to work as a volunteer lifeguard and refugee NGO. In 2018 she was arrested and imprisoned by the Greek government who falsely claimed she was working as a refugee smuggler. After a lengthy and distressing legal battle lasting four years, Sara was only cleared of all charges in 2023.

Wednesday 14th December 2022

This week we were joined by Ms. Ferstman as our second guest speaker of the half term, with an excellent presentation on the portrayal of women in three Roman myths as told by Livy. First up, the Sabine women who were kidnapped by the Romans to produce children for them. When their fathers and brothers come to rescue them, the women step in to prevent the sides fighting, arguing that to be a widow or without a father is the worst thing for them. Next, the rape of Lucretia who is deemed the perfect woman for committing suicide when violated by another man. Whilst her husband and father support her and tell her she did nothing wrong, the ‘perfect victim’ is still punished as her internalised societal ideas of ‘purity’ mean she would rather die than to hear rumours circulate about her. Finally the power struggles between Tanaquil, and a confusing multitude of people named Tarquinius, Tullius and Tullia!? Whilst Tullia Ferox successfully overthrows the king, running her chariot over her own father(!) the power she gains actually goes to her husband and she is condemned for her ambition. The big question we discussed was what the male author Livy was trying to say about how women should behave. We concluded that it seemed the lessons Roman boys and girls would have taken from these stories were that women should fear their reputations and remain within the patriarchal boundaries set for them, particularly in the context of Augustus’ morality laws in the 1st century AD. Those who fail to do so are portrayed as malicious, dangerous and evil and must be blamed and destroyed.

Wednesday 7th December 2022

Film review week with an analysis of the 2017 Greta Gerwig movie ‘Lady Bird’ starring Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet. When this movie came out, critics called it the ‘first truly feminist teen movie’ so we spent our session deciding whether this was an accurate description. We agreed that there was a definite sense of realism in chaotic teenage relationships, not only with peers but also with family. The dual desire Lady Bird has to both conform and rebel played into real teenage struggles with identity. This led to a wider discussion about school social hierarchies and what they tell us about the need for approval, whether at the top or bottom of these illusory categories. Questions were then raised about whether this continues into adulthood and if concerns over being ‘relevant’ or ‘irrelevant’ socially remained true – a clear link to Oscar Wilde’s famous line ‘the thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’. We thought the actors were well cast and the script was strong, particularly in the dialogue between Lady Bird and her mother. We also thought that the sex scene was anti-climactic in a realistic and positive way, not dwelling on issues of female chastity that have historically been so strictly controlled. We wondered whether a rebellious female protagonist played into a stereotype of what ‘feminism’ means which led to this description being used by critics. But if this is a realistic portrayal of teenage life, applicable to both young men and women, then maybe it does indeed fit the description of equality which is what feminism is all about after all?

 

Wednesday 23rd November 2022

This week the Athena Society was paid a special visit by Dr Donn who gave an amazing talk on the portrayal of mermaids in Caribbean culture with comparisons to Western depictions. She introduced us to the story of an indigenous Taino mermaid named Aycayia in the novel ‘The Mermaid of Black Conch’ by Monique Roffey. Her story ties the themes of misogyny in the portrayal of mermaids with the continuing effects of colonisation on society at large, including the brutalisation of nature. Dr Donn taught us about the prevalence of mermaids and other such spirits in Caribbean culture, such as the powerful wise water guardian Mama D’lo, in opposition to the more monotheistic Christian and patriarchal values seen in Western European retellings of mermaid stories. Of course this is most famously portrayed in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid; a story which portrays a young woman cut out her own tongue in her desire to be chosen by a man. We also learnt that mermaids in fiction often hold great amounts of power and are seen as a threat to be dominated by men or as a power to be avoided, as with the sirens in Greek mythology. This topic of mermaids and the patriarchal way in which they are portrayed ties into the larger thread of Dr Donn’s upcoming book which focuses on the link between monsters and how they are portrayed as beings of disability or illness and ultimately beings of systemically inflicted pain.

Wednesday 16th November 2022

This week Lily (Y12) presented some fantastic research she had done on the changing role of women in the early 20th century. Starting with the Matchgirls strike of 1888, Lily explained how dangerous conditions were only uncovered thanks to the work of a female investigative journalist Annie Bevin, working with the young teenagers at the factory to bring about change. Like imperialism, harsh capitalism encouraged divide and rule tactics by unscrupulous bosses threatening to fire workers for protesting. We thought about how factories in the modern world continue gender biases such as in India where men work in car manufacturing and women work in textiles. We then investigated the story of the Radium Girls who fought against big corporations to ban radioactive substances from being used for luminous paint in the First and Second World Wars. Radium had been marketed since 1897 as a cure for many illnesses, though adverts were aimed primarily at women which linked to what we discussed last week about gendered modern advertising. It was dispiriting to see how the corporations tried to shame and discredit the women who were protesting by destroying their reputations through the insinuation that they were promiscuous and contracted syphilis. We also looked at some important inventions which were created by women but their role ignored in the discoveries. Finally we interrogated gender stereotypes by considering that men may not have wanted to fight as soldiers but were forced to through conscription whilst women who did want to fight were banned from enlisting. Through these stories we realised how the expectation for women to remain silent, even when facing clear injustices, remains a problem today.

Wednesday 9th November 2022

This week, Athena students looked at ‘Pink tax’ – the fact that many products which are identical to men’s products (e.g. the same perfume/shampoo/vitamins/toothbrush/razor etc) have their prices hiked due to different packaging targeted at women. We wondered why this was done as surely having an equal price for both products would increase profits for the company? Our conclusion was that perhaps women are socialised to feel like certain products are compulsory and therefore they must buy them, no matter the price tag. There was also discussion of companies increasing prices in order to be seen as a status symbol and drive up demand. We thought about how stores like Superdrug and Boots have most aisles solely aimed at a multitude of products for women. A particularly interesting point was raised about Afro-Caribbean stores selling hair products that were far less gendered – the packaging based on the texture of the hair rather than whose head it is on. We then looked at the removal of taxation on sanitary products in Jan 2021 that was actually only able to happen after Brexit due to an EU law that had insisted on 5% taxation, and a discussion on reasons the gender pay gap persists.

With thanks to Sophie (Y11) for researching and creating the powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 2nd November 2022

The first session of Athena Society this half term saw us come together to write more empowering stories about women to contrast the patriarchal narratives pushed in media, such as the Disney princess movies we discussed last term. We started by brainstorming ideas on what we were looking for in a story that focused on a more accurate and diverse representation of women. This led us to discuss the Bechdel Test – a test which names three criteria for movies: 1) it must have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something other than a man. We went on to write our own stories in small groups on different genres with the aim of passing the Bechdel Test as well as creating an enticing plot for the audience. This exercise was both fun and informative as we saw how it was a little tricky to think beyond the narratives we are used to and revert to simply switching gender roles and removing male characters, which is equally unhelpful for gender equality in film. The variety of stories saw us write a sci-fi action film, a children’s animation, a college horror story, a rom-com mystery and a drama set at a circus all of which showed that it can be possible to create a story with women in meaningful roles as well as coming up with an array of more diverse characters if we think a little differently about what key elements a movie should entail. 

Wednesday 12th October 2022

It’s been a busy and full first half term of the year and great to welcome so many new members to the group. We end October with a discussion on the way in which Shakespeare depicts female characters in his famous plays. There is certainly a wide variety of characters we could have drawn on but we focused on Ophelia (Hamlet), Desdemona (Othello), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Lady Macbeth and the Witches (Macbeth). Whilst Ophelia, Desdemona and Juliet represented male attraction to innocence and suffer ‘graceful deaths’ at the hands of male manipulation, Lady Macbeth and the Witches showed how women with power were scary, evil and needed to be suppressed. We thought of how this translates into modern political implications of powerful women being demonised in the media. We then remembered that women were not allowed to act on the Elizabethan stage and so all these female characters would actually have been played by young boys. All students said they would enjoy more critical interpretations of Shakespeare in their English lessons before A level.

With thanks to Lucie (Y13) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 5th October 2022

Time for movie review week where we chose to analyse the classic film Grease (1978). Whilst the tunes are undeniably catchy all these decades later, the storyline certainly has much to be critical of. There are so many scenes which depict sexual coercion from the boys towards the girls at the high school and we agreed that it is perhaps easier for female audiences to feel the discomfort of watching this on screen. There is a lot of condescension towards those who are not sexual active, yet also strong ‘slut-shaming’ for those that do. Rizzo’s pregnancy is treated unsympathetically, there is a spiking at the prom and regular upskirting and assault on screen. Even lyrics in the songs such as ‘did she put up a fight?’ are not signs to stop inappropriate behaviour but as part of the ‘thrill’ of chasing girls. We considered whether the film encouraged ideas such as ‘bad boys’ being attractive partners and also wondered what the writer’s intentions were in many of the scenes where it seems the audience is being encouraged to find these issues comical. Grease is now being shown in the West End as a stage play but has disappointingly not been updated – despite those entertaining musical tunes, there remains a continued message that young women should change themselves for the desires of a man.

With thanks to Rebecca (Y13) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 28th September 2022

This week, news of the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the ‘morality police’ of Iran prompted us to research about the historical restrictions placed on women’s clothing by men in power. In ancient Greece, the gynaikonomos were groups of men that ensured women dressed ‘appropriately’ and publicly shamed those deemed to contravene the rules. This was specifically linked to the way in which women were categorised as either respectable citizens or those who could be abused as prostitutes. We quickly saw the parallels in modern society, not only in places like Iran and Afghanistan where women are bravely putting their lives in danger to protest, but in the ways in which girls are encouraged to adopt certain behaviours or dress styles to avoid being victims of crime – except there remains the paradox that this does not prevent women and girls from being targeted by male aggression. For example, even when in the ’safety’ of home two women die every week in the UK from domestic violence. We then built on the idea of ‘categories’ of woman based on clothing, looking at the case study of new dress codes implemented at the US restaurant chain Hooters and the issues surrounding decriminalisation of prostitution and pornography.

With thanks to Bea (Y13) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 21th September 2022

Excellent turnout for our session on ‘princesses and patriarchy’ this week. The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II made us think about how the young 25 year old queen in 1952 had to navigate the corridors of power that were exclusively filled by men at the time. We considered what attributes a princess are supposedly required to have (beauty, passivity?) and then re-evaluated our views on a range of Disney princesses. Through reading ‘Toxic Royalty: Feminism and the Rhetoric of Beauty in Disney Princess Films’ by Stephanie X. Hu in the Inquiries Journal, we tracked the evolution of Disney princesses from Snow White in 1937 to Moana in 2016. We noticed how the power dynamics of characters were problematic, as well as their unrealistic body types. In many of these films the villains were older or powerful women, creating the dichotomy that a ‘good woman’ must be non-powerful. We also highlighted that often the death of a mother was the cause of a breakdown in society, reinforcing the idea that womanhood is irrevocably tied to raising children. We concluded that there is still much to be done to avoid continued female stereotypes, and sadly heard how young children we know are still being drawn to problematic Disney merchandise.

Perhaps we will try to write our own more empowering storyboard for Disney to consider!

Wednesday 14th September 2022

The new school year marked the launch of Athena Society’s third year! With lots of brand new members across Y10-13, our first session of the term focused on women in sport. Following the amazing success of England’s women’s football at the Euros this summer, we discussed our experiences of watching the game. Many expressed how they had not been interested in this sport or even knew the game was on, but had been inspired by the empowerment of the victory. There were stories of how male family and friends had responded to the game, with questions like ‘are the goals smaller?’ or statements that the men’s game is a ‘higher skill level’. We also discussed how the women’s team success was being used to browbeat male football players if they do not win the World Cup this November for being ‘lesser than the girls’. We delved into the history of women being banned by the FA in 1921 and then saw some incredible archive footage from 1908 of ‘suffrajitsiu’ – the martial arts used by the suffragettes to resist arrest! This then made us think whether encouraging women to take up martial arts to defend themselves was not actually addressing the issue of male violence itself.

With thanks to Sophia (Y13) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 4th May 2022

Just before the pandemic, the National Gallery set up an exhibition on the work of the iconic female Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. We watched some clips of curators speaking about the power of Gentileschi’s paintings that show female characters taking back control from male aggressors, such as the visceral beheading of Holofernes by Judith. When put into the context of her documented rape trial aged just 15, these paintings evoke even more power. However, we discussed the danger of only crediting female artists for working through their trauma rather than for their clear talent. The information about her rape trial was sombre reading, particularly as many of the statements still seemed so pertinent today.

With thanks to Jolie (Year 10) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 11th May 2022

Movie review week for Thelma and Louise – the 1991 film that caused controversy on its release. Looking at the IMDb synopsis, we noticed how it seemed to not only refer to the women as ‘girls’ but erased all mention of the reason for their ‘adventure’. Equally the trailer seemed to focus on comedy rather than the darker key element of the storyline – escaping controlling husbands and sexual assault. We wondered whether this could have been a marketing tactic to ensure a wider range of people saw the film and would then learn something from the shocking turn of events. Though as conversation then turned to current sexual assault statistics and the rows over Roe vs Wade, the general consensus was disappointment that such shocking events are actually not shocking at all through the de-sensitisation to misogyny in culture and society. But overall, that simply increased our determination to continue raising awareness, speaking out and protecting rights for the future.

With thanks to Mariela and Sophia (Upper Sixth) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week! As their last official week at school, a round of applause was given to them and Joseph for all of their commitment and contributions to the group since its inception last summer.

Wednesday 4th May 2022

Just before the pandemic, the National Gallery set up an exhibition on the work of the iconic female Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. We watched some clips of curators speaking about the power of Gentileschi’s paintings that show female characters taking back control from male aggressors, such as the visceral beheading of Holofernes by Judith. When put into the context of her documented rape trial aged just 15, these paintings evoke even more power. However, we discussed the danger of only crediting female artists for working through their trauma rather than for their clear talent. The information about her rape trial was sombre reading, particularly as many of the statements still seemed so pertinent today.

With thanks to Jolie (Year 10) for researching and creating the PowerPoint slides this week!

Wednesday 27th April 2022

Following last week’s brainstorm, the group requested a session on the history of witchcraft and the persecutions that erupted in the Early Modern period. We read about the misogynistic text Malleus Malificarum that was the best-selling book after the Bible during the 16th century and cemented the idea that women had a propensity to consort with the devil if not restrained by their communities. Students were surprised to hear of men being accused of witchcraft during this period too, though with at least 80% of executions being women it was clearly a gendered phenomenon. We thought about reasons why women were accused, including some concerning similarities about the power of female seduction often heard in defence statements in rape trials today. We also thought about the use of the death penalty and whether the state should have the power to kill its citizens for crimes.

With thanks to Holly (Year 10) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 20th April 2022

This week the group brainstormed the schedule for the term ahead. Lots of exciting new topics to be discussed and new ideas being generated.

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 

The movie review of the term was a mash up of Devil Wears Prada and Legally Blonde – two classic early 2000s films which at the time were meant to promote ‘girl power’ but in retrospect look quite dated and problematic in their approach. In Devil Wears Prada, it was frustrating to see Meryl Streep play a powerful woman who ‘must’ be cruel as well as give up her family to be successful. Whilst comments towards Anne Hathaway’s weight are perhaps meant to be ironic, we wondered what damage this could have done to young girls who watched this film. Simon Baker’s character also seems to commit sexual assault/rape which is not talked about. In Legally Blonde, the way in which the women only bond through talking about men does not do well on the Bechdel Test. Equally, there is a lack of solidarity for Elle from the other women when the professor makes unsolicited sexual advances towards her. Yes it is good to show women succeeding at university and in law courts, but the impression we came away with was that Elle was only a winner in this one circumstance because of her knowledge of hair and fashion which is less progressive. Whilst these were both films that we enjoy and have fond memories of, it was useful to look at them through a more critical lens and think about how scripts and character arcs could be improved if they were re-made today.

With thanks to Ling (Year 10) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 16th March 2022

This week, our attention turned to lesser known women from the suffragette movement. Miss Aitken-Burt has been teaching Year 9 about the suffragettes this term and was inspired to find out about less famous characters after seeing Fern Riddell speak about her book ‘Death in Ten Minutes’. Riddell explains how during her research in the archives on music hall performers, she uncovered the diaries of Kitty Marion who spoke candidly about her arson attacks for the suffragettes. The organisation and planning of such attacks has been largely erased from public consciousness and led to an interesting discussion about ‘sanitising history’, particular about women who ‘cause trouble’. We looked at several other examples of intersectional suffragettes such as Sophia Duleep Singh who campaigned for women in the colonies to gain the right to vote, as well as queer women who joined the suffragette cause.

With thanks to Holly (Year 10) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 9th March 2022

Over half term, Miss Aitken-Burt read Nesrine Malik’s ‘We need new stories’ which in the first chapter presents 10 myths that are used to discredit the feminist movement. We went through each of these anti-feminist arguments in order to learn how to debate and argue against these false myths when they are presented to us by family, friends, peers, colleagues and the media. We also celebrated our fundraising campaign this week for International Women’s Day where we raised £493.50 for the Women and Girls’ Network through the sale of Athena stickers! It’s great to see students across the school becoming more aware of the work we are doing in our sessions and to see growing excitement about being able to join in the Middle School.

Wednesday 2nd March 2022

The publication of the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) report into behaviour within the Metropolitan Police, led to a quite sombre discussion this week about the problems and impact of misogyny. Students expressed how the messages and incidents in the report showed reprehensible attitudes and in many cases illegal actions that of course those who uphold the law should not be participating in. However, there remained concern that even if these men were sacked from their positions, that their views have been generated by a society that allows such attitudes to take hold and will probably continue to behave poorly in another profession. There was consideration over whether the resignation of Police and Crime Commissioner Cressida Dick was useful or necessary. We then had a short explanation of Catherine Mckinnon’s philosophical and legal arguments from her 1979 book about the social contract being broken for women. This led to debate about how much harm the prevalence and accessibility of pornography on the internet is harming societal attitudes towards women.

With thanks to Rebecca (Lower Sixth) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 23rd February 2022

This week, students wanted to find out about some stories they had heard of women who ran away from home and joined the navy by pretending to be young men during the 18th century. By starting with the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 where Elizabeth Swann becomes the Pirate King, we looked at real life stories and the way in which they have been represented in art. Discussion ranged from Ching Shih who dominated the South China Sea for decades to Irish leader Grace O’Malley who met Elizabeth I to come to an agreement to stop raiding English ships. Another interesting example was the story of female pirates and lovers Anne Bonny and Mary Read whose recent statue in Devon caused quite a stir with local residents.

With thanks to Sophia (Lower Sixth) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 9th February 2022

Movie review this week was the controversial film Promising Young woman (2021). We read an article from Men’s Health Magazine which explained how the film shows men the power of accountability. Many of us were quite taken aback by the ending and thought that the message was all the more powerful for it. We discussed each of the characters in the film and how they simultaneously subverted our initial thoughts and yet were all completely believable as real people. Perhaps most insidious of all was the implicit cover ups by even supposed ‘good people’ who let injustices happen and do not speak out.

We ended with a short but important clip of Tarana Burke (who started using #MeToo in 2006) speaking about the fact that gender equality is everyone’s issue and that sexual assault was never okay in any period of history and people knew it wasn’t, even if it was normalised at the time.

Wednesday 2nd February 2022

This week, students wanted to find out more about Boudicca and what her story tells us about Celtic warrior women. We discussed how Rome took advantage of the death of Boudicca’s husband to annul the client kingdom relationship and take direct control. By looking at the ancient source material we could see how patriarchal views from Rome meant that Boudicca had to be crushed and how rape was used as a form of military warfare, just as it still is today to break resistance.

With thanks to Sophia (Upper Sixth) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week.

Wednesday 26th January 2022

A film that was the feminist awakening for many members of the group was the hot topic of discussion this week. The movie Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), set on the coast of Brittany during the late 18th century, follows the story of Marianne, a female artist who is sent to paint the wedding portrait of Hèloise, a young nun who has just been forced to leave her convent on the suicide of her sister. Héloise is a reluctant bride who knows nothing of her future husband and does not want the portrait to be painted, so Marianne must paint her without her knowing. The film flips the idea of a passive artistic muse by making Heloise headstrong and resistant to the constraints being put upon her from the patriarchal society in which they live. Through knowing each other and speaking their truths, both artist and muse are changed forever.

A huge variety of themes to discuss in this movie and students were in awe of the number of issues one film managed to touch on and make them think in different ways. Festa led the discussion with Miss Aitken-Burt and noted how one of the most striking points was that the patriarchy is so ever present in the film, despite the lack of any male characters. It certainly made everyone think about the forgotten stories and lived experiences of women in the past.

Wednesday 19th January 2022

By popular demand, this week’s session was on interpretations of power, love, virtue and vice through the case study of Cleopatra. Infamous for her beauty and seduction of both Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, we considered where the source material comes from for this interpretation and whether it has coloured our understanding of this leader who clearly had impressive military skill and political acumen. We also wondered whether as a woman she may have had no choice but to bargain with her sexuality in order to get ahead and compete with the men around her. We ended by showing how the sexualised image of Cleopatra is still so ubiquitous in the media by looking at Azerbaijan’s 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entry.

With thanks to Jolie (Year 10) for researching and creating the Powerpoint slides this week!

Wednesday 12th January 2022

After marking so many political philosophy mock exams this week, Miss Aitken-Burt kicked off the new year with an introduction to the four ‘strands’ of feminist philosophy. Whilst quite conceptual for our mixed year group society(!) students engaged well to try and understand the meaning behind why different philosophies follow different arguments for why patriarchy exists and what to do about it.

Wednesday 24th November 2021

This week debate centred around the startling statistics behind the current gender bias. Looking at extracts from Caroline Criado Perez’s best selling book Invisible Women, discussions varied from the sexist designs behind seat belts and the economic realities of growing up a girl in the Third World.

Wednesday 17th November 2021

This week, the group participated in a guided reading of ‘We should all be feminists’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. By watching her TED talk in conjunction with the reading, we considered why this pamphlet has become a seminal feminist text since its first publication in 2014.

Wednesday 10th November 2021

This week, Upper Sixth students and founding President of the society, Festa, led the session to Year 10 and Lower Sixth with a varied presentation on recent news reports of feminist interest. Firstly, a discussion revolved around US Senator Josh Hawley’s comments that feminism has ‘driven men to pornography and video games’ as well as praising the ‘manly virtues’ of aggression and competitiveness as central to liberty. Then the horrific story of serial killer and necrophiliac David Fuller who detectives finally arrested after decades of abuse inflicted. Finally, the problematic objectification of women in music videos and lyrics was analysed through Akon’s song ‘Don’t blame it all on me’. Students agreed that casually misogynistic language is often used in music which, as a popular cultural medium, may give young boys and men a sense of entitlement and superiority to women. This is why the work of the Athena Society is so important to have open and educational conversations with male peers about why misogyny is an issue and where it stems from.

Wednesday 3rd November 2021

Movie discussion time this week with a classics deep dive into the world of the Amazons through analysis of Wonder Woman (2017). We compared the commercial success of the first film with the failures of the sequel, looking at poor storylines and marketing. There was also an interesting discussion about female centred storylines actually being successful despite fears of production studios. We also considered how the Bechdel Test has improved the quality of more recent films, even if there remains a way to go to improve representation. Either way, we all still kind of wanted to be Gal Gadot and Themiscyra looked like a pretty cool place to live!

Wednesday 13th October 2021

This week was a conceptual look at some analogies to describe the ways in which patriarchy operates. Using an extract from Deborah Frances-White’s book The Guilty Feminist, we looked at her thought experiment following the lives of ‘Al and Bob’ who are treated differently since birth. By making both Al and Bob boys, we can take a more objective approach to the inequalities between the way people interact with them (i.e. there is no actual reason for the difference in interactions but still happens). Another analogy talked about how to have the power to ‘turn off the tap’ of male privilege, whilst another used the analogy of a steep staircase and VIP suite. This emphasised that whilst the climb to the top may be hard for men (i.e. still pressure to achieve etc), if they don’t look behind they will not see the doors that are being deliberately closed on women and other minorities from ever being able to even have a chance of entering the VIP suite.

Wednesday 6th October 2021

With the sentencing of Sarah Everard’s killer this week, Athena Society was packed with students seeking discussion about women’s safety in public spaces. We read a BBC History Magazine article about how this is not a new discussion but something that Victorian city planners were debating too. We considered how prevalent rape is in classical mythology and how this has influenced Western cultural attitudes. By then considering the tension between liberal and radical feminists in the 1960s/70s, we saw how one of the definitions that the patriarchy has used to divide and define women is sexuality. By reading parts of a manifesto from the ‘Lavender Menace’ we discussed the argument of independent women being branded as lesbians and not considered ‘real women’. The argument follows that the essence of being a woman is only as a male sex object and the term ‘lesbian’ was used to frighten and separate the women’s liberation movement.

Wednesday 29th September 2021

Building on last weeks’ discussion about women’s education, this week we focused on key female individuals of the Enlightenment period. We looked at Elizabeth Montagu who set up the Bluestocking society to allow women a place to discuss matters of academia for one of the first times. Emilie du Chatelet was involved in writing Denis Diderot’s Encyclopaedia and translated Isaac Newton’s work into French which is still used today yet was continually excluded from conversations and had to dress as a man to enter the coffeeshops of the early modern period where academics gathered to discuss their latest work. Finally we re-considered the importance of women in the French Revolution whose march to Versailles was actually more significant than the famous storming of the Bastille. Students commented on the way Olympe de Gouges’ arguments for women to be included in the ‘equalité’ the revolution promised were silenced, mirroring the feelings students face when they want to call out inequalities today.

Wednesday 22nd September 2021

With the latest news of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now banning girls from attending school and setting up a ‘Ministry of Vice and Virtue’, we spent this session discussing female education around the world and the way it has been eroded or controlled by various governments. We read about the history of Islamic female education, what the Quran says about all Muslims becoming educated and the fact that the first university was in fact set up by a woman named Fatima al-Fihri in Fez, Morocco in 859CE.

Wednesday 15th September 2021

It’s a new school year and the Athena Society is kicking off with a great new schedule of events for the term ahead. We are also glad to be able to welcome new members from across Years 10- 13 this year! Miss Aitken-Burt began the first session of the term by explaining her recent work writing new Harper Collins World History textbooks for KS3 and the problems faced in trying to convince co-authors and publishers of the importance of incorporating more women into the narratives we write. She explained a story she discovered about pioneering female archaeologist Gertrude Caton Thompson who excavated Great Zimbabwe and proved that the indigenous Shona people built the site, yet her research was continually ignored for decades. Miss Aitken-Burt also presented the results of a survey she conducted amongst Old Emanuels who attended the school from the 1960s onwards about their history curriculum and the problematic fact that hardly any of them could name any female characters in history from their entire schooling.

Wednesday 16th June 2021

Our book of the term was The Power by Naomi Alderman and this week was discussion time! Whilst at first glance this book seems to be a radical feminist novel arguing for women to become the dominant sex, by the end this is actually more of a comment on domination of either sex being problematic.

The premise of the story follows that all women in the world suddenly develop the ability to release electrical jolts from their fingers. This allows them to have a physical advantage over men that is visually clear. There are many interesting scenes that show how such advantage creates fear and tension in a room. Another intriguing aspect of the book which generated much discussion was the inclusion of archaeological artefacts and a new religion based on Mother Eve. Students agreed that the messages behind The Power were powerful!

Wednesday 9th June 2021

This week our focus of discussion was Princesses and Patriarchy. Using an extract from Caitlin Moran’s 2011 book How To Be a Woman and her own 2020 reflections on the book, we talked about the ways in which princesses for centuries have been hailed as the ideal woman in society and the problems that brings. First we looked at princesses of the British monarchy such as Diana, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle and the ways in which they have been portrayed and viewed by the public and media. We then thought about WAGs and reality TV stars as the new ‘princesses’ and the ways in which misogyny can be used to a woman’s benefit, at the expense of challenging the issue of misogyny itself. We considered how objectification remains problematic for both women and men in our image based culture and ended with a walk through the Disney princesses of our childhoods and the sometimes quite troubling stories they portrayed for the roles of women.

Wednesday 26th May 2021

This week we welcomed our first guest speaker to the Athena Society (via Zoom). Dr Tess Little is an Examination Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford who has recently completed her PhD in transnational connections in the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960s-70s. She spoke about her research findings and presented a general history of feminist activism in the 1960s and 1970s followed by a fantastic Q&A. Perhaps one of the most pertinent points Dr Little summed up so eloquently was “women can be agents of patriarchy just as men can be agents of feminism”. Dr Little passed on her thanks for being invited to share her research with such a bright group of students who asked such great questions.

Wednesday 12th May 2021

This week at the Athena Society we discussed body image, using an extract on this issue from Deborah Frances-White’s book The Guilty Feminist as a starting point. Recent surveys indicate that 97% of women have negative thoughts about their bodies every single day and we tried to understand why this is. Whilst social media has created filters and relentless visual images people compare themselves to, we also acknowledged that this is not a new phenomenon. By comparing statues, paintings and photographs from 25,000BC to modern times we debated how beauty standards have changed and still remain different in each country around the world today. Has social media created a wider array of role models to aspire to or are we still simply comparing each other on beauty rather than on our achievements?

Wednesday 12th May 2021

This week at we discussed the controversial statue of Mary Wollstonecraft that was put up in Newington Green last year. Does it really represent ‘every woman’ as was intended? Is her nudity and posture giving an empowering message or not? We compared this piece of art with examples of socialist realism art from the early Soviet Union where women were presented with more agency and discussed how Stalin rolled back the progress made by Alexandra Kollontai and early Marxist feminists within the Communist Party.

Wednesday 5th May 2021

The second meeting of the Athena Society this week drew in an even bigger audience as we discussed the myth of Medusa. Traditionally, the snake haired woman who could turn people to stone with one look has been seen as a monster, cursed by Athena for violating her temple. But by re-interpreting it through a feminist lens, we considered whether Athena had in fact ‘saved’ her from the male gaze by turning her into a monster.

We then went on to look at how imagery of Medusa has been used to vilify female politicians. We debated the ways in which characteristics are often labelled as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ and how those who have traits that cross those imagined boundaries are ridiculed. Are character traits linked to gender simply an outdated concept

Wednesday 28th April 2021

The inaugural meeting on Wednesday 28th April generated a fantastic discussion amongst the founding Lower Sixth students (Festa, Tara, Willa, Mariela, Connie, Chris, India, Lucy , Maddie, Scarlett, Maisie, Sophia). Many insightful points were made on their experience so far on gendered politics and knowledge of women’s history. One of the main points discussed was the way in which both male and female students often don’t feel empowered to talk about these issues amongst their peers for fear of being ‘cancelled’ on social media. It was interesting that many of them were saying that they are starting to realise how harmful social media can be and that it is an incapable forum for reasoned debate. They all said they were really pleased the group has been set up so that they can physically listen to each other and learn and talk about things in a safe space together.