Our Athena Society has recently formed an alliance with the newly formed Feminist Society at Eton, to create an open space in which the girl and boys can collaborate and discuss various issues relating to feminism, gender, diversity etc. FemSoc were lucky enough to have their inaugural talk from Dr Helen Pankhurst earlier this year, granddaughter of Sylia Pankhurst and great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement.
To commence this relationship, on Wednesday 9 November Athena attended the FemSoc talk on Consent. The evening started with the traditional boys on one side and the girls on the other but by the end of the evening, the nature of the activities resulted in discussions being held in smaller mixed groups. The talk explored some interesting issues and gave the students plenty to reflect upon.
To follow on from this talk, the FemSoc boys will be attending a discussion supper at Heathfield with Athena in order to discuss the matters further and develop the collaborative nature of this new partnership. It is very inspiring to see these young minds tackling issues and forming their own opinions on feminism and gender equality.
Athena Society’s link with Fem Soc will continue in this vein, with the boys and girls coming together to listen to talks which are to be followed up by working suppers where the topic can be discussed further after they have all had the opportunity to reflect on their thoughts.